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From Winnie the Pooh to Paddington, bears have always had a special place in the imagination. Bears can be found in Europe, Asia, North and South America and the Arctic but for how much longer? Seven out of the nine bear species are vulnerable or endangered.
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| Asiatic black bear
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|  | Asiatic black bears are also known as moon bears because of the crescent shaped marking on their chests. They are found throughout Asia from Pakistan to Japan.
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| | The main threats to Asiatic black bears are deforestation and loss of habitat. They often live in hilly or mountainous forest areas, moving to the lower slopes during the winter. Logging leading to deforestation across Asia is a major threat to their survival, as is the encroachment of human settlements.
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| | Asiatic black bears are sometimes killed by farmers as they take livestock or strip the bark from valuable timber trees.
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| | These bears are also hunted or farmed for their gall bladders and other body parts which are used in traditional medicine. The trade seems to be particularly extensive in China, Korea and Japan where prices are increasing.
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| | Although it is prohibited by law these bears are sometimes used for bear baiting in Pakistan.
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| | The subspecies U.t.gedrosianus (Baluchistan) from southern Pakistan is listed by the IUCN as critically endangered, but other subspecies are classified as vulnerable.
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| | The Asiatic black bear is legally protected in all of the countries where it lives except for Japan.
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| | For further species information see ARKive.
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Giant panda
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| | Giant pandas are found in south-west China and have the most restricted distribution of all bears.
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| | Pandas are known for eating bamboo and little else. They eat large amounts (up to 38kg a day) to get the nutrients they need. The loss of bamboo forests is the greatest cause of their declining numbers. Large areas of China’s natural forest have been cleared for agriculture and timber.
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| | By mid-2005, the Chinese government had established over 50 panda reserves, protecting more than 10,400km² and over 45% of remaining giant panda habitat.
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| | More than half of bamboo forests inhabited by pandas have disappeared since 1974.
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| | Pandas seem to have problems migrating to and from areas of forest and populations can become isolated. This is particularly significant when areas of bamboo forest die back (which happens naturally every 40 to 60 years).
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| | Pandas are sometimes hunted for their fur which is used as sleeping mats (the markings are supposed to have positive supernatural effects on the sleeper).
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| | Giant pandas are protected under Chinese law. They are classified as endangered by the IUCN.
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| | For further species information see ARKive.
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| Polar bear
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| | The polar bear is the largest land carnivore and is the most carnivorous of all the bears.
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| | Polar bears are most at threat from climate change. As the ice melts earlier in the summer and freezes later in the winter they have less time to hunt for seals. If polar bears are unable to hunt and gain weight as normal, females may fail to lactate and therefore polar bear cub mortality increases.
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| | Polar bears are sometimes hunted for meat and fur. This occurs mainly in eastern Greenland, US, Canada and eastern Russia. Some regions have hunting quotas for polar bears, usually given to indigenous populations.
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| | Oil and chemical spills are a potential threat. If a bear's fur comes into contact with oil it can damage its insulation properties. Bears may also eat food that is contaminated with oil.
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| | Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are especially dangerous as polar bears may be exposed to high levels through their highly carnivorous diet. POPs are concentrated in fat and stored in the organs of animals that have eaten poisoned prey. Newborn bear cubs seem to be most vulnerable to these.
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| | High levels of PCBs (chlorine-based compounds) have been found in polar bears, this is thought to have resulted in female polar bears being born with both male and female sex organs. PCBs seem to have affected bears in Russia in particular.
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| | Polar bear populations can only be estimated. In some areas such as Western Hudson Bay numbers are well known, however this isn’t the case for populations in Russia and Greenland.
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| | Polar bears are classified as vulnerable by the IUCN.
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| | For further species information see ARKive.
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| Red panda |
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| | Red pandas are found in the coniferous and deciduous forests of southern Asia.
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| | This area faces threats from the logging industry, either destroying red panda habitat or fragmenting it so that populations become isolated.
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| | Human encroachment in the form of cutting forests for firewood or clearing for agricultural land has also affected this habitat. The spread of agricultural terracing in Nepal has had a significant impact.
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| | Red pandas are poached for their fur or sold as pets. Red panda fur is used to make hats and clothing in China. In the past red panda hats were given as wedding presents because they were seen as good luck charms. This tradition continues in some regions.
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| | Red panda populations can only be roughly estimated. It’s thought that there has been a 40% decrease in China’s red panda population during the last 50 years.
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| | Red pandas are classified as endangered by the IUCN. They are protected in Nepal and China.
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| | For further species information see ARKive.
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| Sloth bear
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| | Sloth bears can be found in southern Asia in countries such as Sri Lanka, India, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
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| | Human encroachment into sloth bear habitat has resulted in the clearance of wood for agricultural land leaving sloth bears with only small pockets of habitat. As human populations have grown rapidly in this region and poverty is a major problem, the conservation of bears is not necessarily seen as a priority.
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| | Sloth bears are poached for their gall bladders and other body parts which are used in traditional medicine.
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| | Sloth bear cubs are trapped and used as dancing bears. The WSPA has reported that up to 2,000 sloth bears and asiatic black bears are forced to dance for public entertainment in India and Pakistan.
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| | In India, moves to save the Bengal tiger have helped sloth bears as they share the same habitat.
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| | Sloth bears are classified as vulnerable by the IUCN.
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| | For further species information see ARKive.
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| Spectacled bear |
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| | Spectacled bears are the only bear species to come from South America.
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| | The least disturbed spectacled bear populations can be found in the Oriental Range in Equador, Peru and northern Bolivia.
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| | Their main threat is loss of habitat as a result of logging, mineral mining and human encroachment. Spectacled bears have been found to be moving further up the mountains in many cases.
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| | Spectacled bear fat and claws are used in traditional medicine. They are also hunted for sport.
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| | The bears can destroy crops which has lead to conflict with farmers who may see the bears as pests. Some farmers spray their fields with special pesticides and others may shoot the bears.
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| | Spectacled bears are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.
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| | For further species information see ARKive.
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| Sun bear
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| | Sun bears can be found in south-east Asia. The range of the sun bear population isn’t known, particularly on its eastern edge.
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| | Sun bears suffer from trapping. The cubs are often sold into the pet trade and adults killed for their body parts.
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| | Sun bear meat is a sometimes served in restaurants. Bear paw is seen as a delicacy in some regions.
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| | Sun bears are classified as data deficient by the IUCN.
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| | For further species information see ARKive.
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