The Syrian brown bear (Ursus arctos syriacus) is a subspecies of Eurasian brown bear. Native to the Middle East, Caucasus Mountains and central Asia, in the Bronze Age the Syrian brown bear enjoys an extensive range, and is now endangered.
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A light-colored large predatory mammal, during the Bronze Age the Syrian brown bear ranges in the Levant, ancient near East and Turkey to Turkmenistan east of the Caspian Sea. Today the brown bear is extremely rare and may be extinct in Syria.
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In Israel, Jordan, Palestine, and the Sinai Peninsula the bear has been hunted out. Syrian brown bears today live in the wild in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Turkmenistan. Syrian brown bears are slightly smaller than Eurasian brown bears.
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Bears have sharp senses. They see in color and have excellent vision close-up. Their distance vision is over 182 m (600 ft). They can see under water.
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Bears hear in all directions. They swivel their ears and depend on hearing more than sight. Their ears develop to full size faster than the rest of their body. Hearing is over twice the sensitivity of human hearing and goes beyond human frequency ranges.
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The bear's sense of smell is excellent. The nasal mucosa or mucus membrane area is 100x as big as that of a human. A bear has a better sense of smell than a bloodhound. Bear / hiker encounters often happen if a person comes from downwind, surprising the bear.
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A bear has a large brain compared to body size and is among the most intelligent mammals. A bear can count to twelve. Bear intelligence makes captivity difficult as the bear needs a lot of mental and physical exercise. An adult bear can easily roam 32 km (20 mi) in a day.
Bears have a navigation ability superior to humans. Bears relocated from their home territories have been known to find their way back over a vast distance. A bear has an excellent long-term memory and will remember past harm, as well as past kindness.
In 2004 Syria, brown bear tracks are recorded in snow for the first time in fifty years. In February 2011, bear tracks are again found in the area.
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In Turkey, bear habitats include Mediterranean belt forests, deciduous and conifer forests in the Black Sea region and NE Turkey. The bears also favor secluded oak and pine forests of the Black Sea, and dry forests in East Anatolia.
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These habitats range in elevation from 500 - 2700 m (1600 - 8900 ft). Syrian brown bears at higher altitudes tend to have paler fur. In Iran the bear lives in the Central Alborz Protected Area the Zagros Mountains.
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Syrian brown bears prefer high elevations and north slopes, near fresh water such as a lake or stream. Not all bears hibernate in winter. A mother wakes to give birth to her tiny 8oz cubs then dozes off and on. Male bears often don't hibernate if food and water are handy.
When the bear hibernates its entire system changes. It consumes organic material including pebbles and dry skin from soles of paws to form a fecal plug to stop defecation. The kidneys become a different set of organs, recycling body fluids to keep the bear hydrated.
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Body temperature lowers, and breathing slows. A hibernating bear who arises in winter is in "walking hibernation" for two weeks as the body returns to normal functions. This helps withstand false spring or return to regular body function. Never wake a hibernating bear.
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In Turkey, the bear is threatened by forest fragmentation, deforestation, contamination and persecution due to the bear's love of raiding beehives for honey, and attacks on livestock.
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Bears who take livestock as easy prey doom themselves as their behavior becomes more than dangerous to humans. Bears usually eat a combination of grains, grasses, fruit, nuts, meat or fish. They will take down elk calves and deer. They also eat carrion.
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Perils to bears include Black Sea poachers killing bears for fat, thought to have medicinal value. Bears may be killed during wild boar hunts with dogs. They may be poisoned by bait set illegally for bears and other mammals such as red deer, roe deer, wolf or lynx.
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The Syrian brown bear appears three times in the Hebrew Bible denoting the protective nature of a mother bear to her cubs. Syrian brown bears are also described in 2 Kings 2:23-25 mauling 42 "small boys" who mock Elisha, a disciple of Elijah.
23 He [Elisha] went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”
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24 And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys. 25 From there he went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
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So much for deific compassion. Bears in spirituality and symbolism often represent the primal powers, rage, destruction and destructive emotions. A mother bear is a fierce protector, especially as male bears try to kill the cubs. She must be strong and ferocious.
In Roman myth, Juno turns Callisto into a bear in jealousy over Jupiter's infatuation. When Callisto is almost killed by her son as he doesn't recognize her, Jupiter interferes and puts Callisto and her son in the sky as Ursa Major and Minor.
In ancient Greece, Artemis the Huntress (Roman Diana) is sometimes represented as a bear. Her priestesses are called "little she-bears". In medieval times, mother bears are thought to create their young from clay, licking them into the shape of cubs.
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Syrian brown bears weigh up to 500 kg (1100 lb) and measure 101 - 140 cm (40 - 55 in) nose to tail. Like all bears, Syrian brown bears play a crucial role in maintaining their ecosystem. Bears are known to be self-aware, and can empathize with each other.
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For instance at a Montana zoo, one male grizzly helps another recover from abuse, although male bears are usually solitary. The same kind of behavior is seen at a bear sanctuary in Romania. Or visit delightful Mansur the Airfield Bear, live cam.
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A Syrian brown bear can live 20 - 30 years, longer in captivity. It runs full out about 48 km (30 mph) and can catch fleeing prey with a burst of speed. Bears are naturally "programmed" to give chase when an animal runs away.
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