Ken Pohl, age 11, of Lansing, Michigan, for his question:
What is the bear's family?
There is a clue to this one up in the sky, on the way to Polaris, the North Star. The bear family name comes from the same source as the name for the constellation we call the Big Dipper. No, the words bear and dipper are not used and the story is rather roundabout. But if you hear it you are not likely to forget the name of the bear family.
When naturalists set about classifying the animals, they faced an international problem. Every language had its own names for the various common animals and the new scientific names should be understood by one and all. It was decided to use words from Latin and Greek because most scholars had studied these so called dead languages. For example, Felidae the Cat Family was named for the Latin felinus the cat. The Canidae Family was named for the Latin canis the dog.
From here, we take a fanciful trip to the Big Dipper. In ancient times, this starry constellation was named for a sacred animal and its Latin name was Ursa Major The Big She bear. Most astronomers still refer to the Big Dipper by this name and this is how it is listed on the star charts.
So, from the same place, Latin, that the scientists got their name for the Big Dipper, other scientists got their name for the bear family. Bears, and only bears, qualify for membership in the Family Ursidae. After all, when you see a bear or even his portrait, you could never mistake him for any other animal. He may be only three feet long or he may be nine feet long and weigh three quarters of a ton. But he looks and he behaves just like a bear.
He has that wide bearish face with squinty eyes and round ears. He wears a thick bulky coat in some shade of brown, white or black. His legs are short and there are five mighty claws on each large paw. He walks with a flat footed shuffle but can gallop and swim and, unless he becomes too heavy, he can climb trees.
When it comes to food, the bear is a gourmet who enjoys a wide variety of tasty snacks. His menu includes meat and the large brown bears are classed as the largest land dwelling carnivores. However, even the giant Kodiak bear eats no more meat than a coyote. At times, he grazes on the tender spring grasses like a gentle cow. The average bear eats a wide assortment of greenery, berries, small animals and bird eggs. He enjoys fish and loves the honey of wild bees.
As to character, no human is clever enough to guess what a bear is likely to do next. He has grumpy moods and playful moods and often performs clownish antics. When annoyed, a big bear can kill a man with one blow of his mighty arm.
Ursidae is indeed a most fascinating animal family. But on account of their unpredictable behavior, it is wise to admire the bears from a safe distance. When visiting our National Parks, it is sensible and also kind to obey the signs that say, Please Don't Feed the Bears. Free food encourages them to be lazy and besides one of the big clowns might just decide to bite you or take a whack at you.