Why Are Brown Bears Important?

Bears are a part of our culture: For thousands by feeding on sick and weak individuals. They keep of years, people and bears have shared the land. plant-eating animal species from overpopulating and Pictographs in central Montana dating back 3,000 years help forests grow by spreading seeds. Natural areas that illustrate the importance of bears to prehistoric humans. support bears are home to many other animals. So by "ROWNBEARSARECONSIDEREDTOBEANENDURINGSYMBOLOF protecting bears, we protect other wildlife too. true wilderness in North America. Their strength, power Bears are survivors: At one time brown bears were and beauty have inspired our respect, fear and admiration. SCARCEINTHECONTINENTAL53ANDHEADEDFOREXTINCTION Many native Americans believe brown bears possess Today America’s greatest predator is making a comeback! special powers and can even take on human form. Their recovery is one of our biggest conservation success Bears are like us! "EARSAREMORELIKEUSTHANYOU stories and represents what we can accomplish when we might think. They sometimes stand on two feet, use their all work together! paws to reach for things and eat both plants and meat. Bears share our space: As bear and human Female bears are great moms. They fiercely protect and populations grow, conflict for space and resources care for their cubs for their first two years. During that time BETWEENTHETWOAREONTHERISE"YBECOMINGBEAR mothers teach their cubs how to survive on their own. aware – learning ways to avoid unwanted or unsafe Bears keep our environment healthy: encounters – and teaching others what you’ve learned, "ROWNBEARSKEEPWILDLIFEPOPULATIONSHEALTHYANDSTRONG you can create a brighter future for bears.

SAFETY OUTDOORS Connecting children to nature means taking them outdoors into the beauty of nature. In order to ensure a safe experience, we suggest you walk the outdoor area the day before to look for any potential safety hazards. Be aware of any plants that might cause skin irritation such as poison ivy. The goal is to have a fun, immersive, safe experience outdoors.

ACTIVITY SHEET 1 1 Where do brown bears live? GRADES 2-6 Where Do Brown Bears Live?

DIRECTIONS: Place one food, one water and one cover card into each ecosystem below to learn where brown bears live and the habitat elements they need to survive.

Forest

Sedge Meadow

River

Visit a local, state or national park to learn more about plants, animals and wildlife habitats near you!

Cut out and place the Brown Bear Habitat Cards into the ecosystems on Activity Sheet 1 to see where bears live and how bears depend on different forms of food, water and cover to survive.

COVER

Den River Bank Sedge

WATER

River Lake Puddle

FOOD

Snowshoe Hare Berries Salmon

Visit a local, state or national park to learn more about plants, animals and wildlife habitats near you!

© 2013 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Celebrate Earth Day 2014 In Theatres April 18 ACTIVITY SHEET 1B 4 How do I compare to a bear? GRADES 2-6 Comparing Hands Line your hand up to the bottom of the paw print. Trace your hand. How are your hand print and the bear paw print alike and different?

Adult Male Brown Bear Paw Print Measure your ﬁngernail and the bear claw in centimeters and inches. Whose is longer?

BEAR: ______cm / ______in Look for animal tracks in your backyard to ﬁnd out what wildlife visits your home. ME: ______cm/______in

What covers the brown bear’s Hair protects brown bears A bear’s hair helps it to blend 1 skin and provides it with 2 from cold temperatures and 3 into its environment. What protection? ______. is this called? a. Feathers a. Insect bites a. Mimicry b. Hair b. Getting sunburned b. Camoflauge c. Scales c. Both a and b c. Hiding

1 This keeps a bear’s body 2 During which season do brown 3 Bears need to eat ______lbs insulated in cold tempuratures. bears build layers of fat? (______kg) of salmon per day in the summer to build fat. a. Mittens a. Spring a. 2 lbs/less than 1 kg b. Fat layers b. Summer b. 5,000 lbs/2,267 kg c. Bubbles c. Winter c. 90 lbs/40 kg

Brown bears have sharp teeth Brown bears have long, flat Brown bears have different 1 for eating ______. 2 molars for eating ______. 3 types of teeth because they eat both plants and meat. This type of animal is called a/an_____. a. Ice cream a. Salmon a. Herbivore b. Berries b. Berries b. Carnivore c. Salmon c. Pizza c. Omnivore

Brown bears stand on their What adaptation do brown A bear’s nose is large with 1 hind legs to______. 2 bears have that give them 3 wide nostrils. What adaptation strong muscles for digging? does this allow for? a. Get a better view or a better smell a. Nose opening a. A strong sense of smell b. Tree scratch b. Shoulder hump b. An excellent sense of hearing c. Both a and b c. Sharp teeth c. Good eyesight

How many digits, or fingers, How long is the average What does a young bear use 1 does a bear paw have? 2 brown bear claw? 3 its claws for?

a. 5 a. 40-80 inches (100-200 cm) a. To find food b. 4 b. 11-19 inches (30-50 cm) b. To climb trees c. 3 c. 1-4 inches (5-10 cm) c. Both a and b

What does a brown bear use A bear can smell scents up to What type of food should you 1 its sense of smell for? 2 ______miles away. 3 bring when visiting bear country? a. Fish a. To find food a. 50 feet (15 meters) b. Ice cream b. To find other bears b. 2 miles (over 3 kilometers) c. Only food that can be stored properly to avoid a bear c. Both a and b c. 100 miles (160 Kilometers) encounter

Help the brown bear get to its den! Roll a numbered cube to move your game piece through the board. Take the adaptation card that is the same color as the space you landed on. Answer the question correctly to collect your adaptation card. The ﬁrst to collect all six adaptation cards and successfully reach the bear den is the winner!

6ISITALOCAL!:!ZOOORAQUARIUMTOLEARN more about animal adaptations.

© 2013 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Celebrate Earth Day 2014 In Theatres April 18 ACTIVITY SHEET 1 5 What do Alaskan animals eat? GRADES 2-6 What’s For Dinner? DIRECTIONS: Find out what’s for dinner in Katmai National Park! Choose one Alaskan animal and glue its card into the box below. Using the provided clues, glue the corresponding plant or animal cards onto the plate to show what your animal eats.

I AM A PLACE ANIMAL HERBIVORE CARD HERE Based on this plate, check one of the boxes to show whether OMNIVORE your animal is a herbivore, omnivore or carnivore. CARNIVORE

Organize a river, lake or beach clean-up to keep water habitats clean for ﬁsh and the animals that eat ﬁsh.

Cards I get my energy from the sun.

I get my SEDGE energy from the sun.

FRUIT I get my energy from fruit, flies and hares. I get my energy from tiny RED FOX floating plants and animals called plankton. SALMON I get my energy from grass and bark.

I get my SNOWSHOE HARE energy from the sun.

MOSS I get my energy from rotting plant material.

FUNGUS

BARK I get my WHITE-TAILED DEER energy from the sun.

PLANKTON I get my energy from grass, bark and fruit. I get my energy from deer, PORCUPINE foxes, hares, porcupine, caribou and carrion. GREY WOLF I get my energy from carrion.

I get my FLY energy from grass and bark.

BEAVER I get my energy from flies.

ORB SPIDER

I am the I get my energy remains of a from salmon, dead animal. hares, beavers, Many animals foxes and eat me. carrion. CARRION BALD EAGLE

I get my energy from sedge, moss, I get my fruit, flies, fungus, energy from beavers, deer, the sun. hares, caribou, foxes, salmon BARK BROWN BEAR and carrion.

I get my energy from grass, bark and fungus.

CARIBOU

DIRECTIONS: Cut out the photos from Disneynature BEARS below and place them in order of events. The photos will follow brown bear cubs Amber and Scout through their ﬁrst year with their mother, Sky.

Cubs observing salmon fishing Cubs nursing

Cubs emerging from den Cubs playing

Cubs resting Cubs digging for food

The river is a popular spot for brown bears in Katmai National Park! Use the back footprints from the brown bear Identiﬁcation Guide to decide which prints belong to each bear.

4 3 2

Based on my observations, these brown bear footprints Why do you think bears are visiting this river? belong to:

1. 2. Do you think this area of the river should be protected? Why or why not?

3. 4.

5SEAlELDGUIDETOLOOKFORANDIDENTIFYANIMALFOOTPRINTSINYOUR backyard or near your school!

Help scientists learn which bears have visited the river! Use the pictures, rear footprints and discriptions in the Brown Bear Identiﬁcation Guide below to complete Activity Sheets 2 and 3.

NOTES: NOTES: Large adult female Adult male with Sky with dark coat and long claws. Chinook wide paws and short claws. Sky visits the river to catch C hinook often competes Adult Female ﬁsh to eat. She needs to feed Adult Male with other bears for ﬁshing her growing cubs. spots on the river.

NOTES: Amber’s paw is thin NOTES: Scout’s paw is wide and long. She watches her and short. Scout is a fearless Amber mother’s every move – learning Scout adventurer who puts his nose the best ways to open clams or everywhere – especially where fend off wolves. If Sky happens it doesn’t belong. Scout can get Young cub to catch a ﬁsh, Amber will be Young cub into trouble, but Sky is always there to share it with her. there to protect Scout.

5SEALOCALlELDGUIDETOEXPLOREYOURBACKYARDORAPARKNEARYOURHOME Have an adult help you make plaster molds of any footprints you ﬁnd.

Help this family make their campsite safe by circling the things below that are good practices and placing an X on the wrong practices.

Do your research before you visit a park! Learn more about the animals that live there and how you can be safe when you visit.

Glossary

Adaptation: a trait that helps an animal or plant Fat layer: located just below a the skin, this layer Niche: the role each living thing has in its habitat survive in its environment gives a bear enough energy to survive the winter Nucleus: the control center of an animal cell the highest ranking individual in a group the way energy is transferred from Alpha: Food chain: Nursing: the method that mammals use to feed producers to consumers in an ecological Amino acid: the building blocks of proteins; found their young within DNA community Omnivore: an animal that eats plants and animals : an object that bears cannot open or Food web: an interconnected network of feeding Bear-proof Pack: a group of wolves that live and hunt together break relationships in an ecological community Footprint: the indentation or outline left by an Paw: an animal foot that contains both claws and Biodiversity: the variety of life forms on Earth; footpads includes three major types of biodiversity: organism’s foot on an impressionable surface species, genetic and ecosystem diversity such as sand, mud or snow Population: all of the animals living in an area to look or search for food items Camera trap: a special automated camera Forage: Predator: an organism (usually an animal) that eats equipped with a motion-detecting beam that is Forest: a large area of land covered in dense trees other animals for food used to capture pictures of wild animals and other plants Prey: an animal that is food for another animal Camouflage: a physical adaptation that helps an Fragment: an area of land that has been separated Producer: an organism that is able to make its own organism blend in with its environment from a larger portion of the surrounding food (i.e., plants, some algae) ecosystem by a natural or human-made barrier Canine teeth: sharp, pointed teeth situated in the Range: the geographical area in which an animal upper and lower jaws of an animal’s mouth Fungus: a multi-cellular organism that is neither population is found a plant nor an animal that gets its energy from Carnivore: an animal that eats mostly meat River: a large channel of water flowing to breaking down other organisms; or from another body of water Carrion: a dead and decaying animal a mushroom is an example of a fungus Salt marsh: a coastal wetland that is flooded and Cell: the basic structural and functional unit of all a system of Global positioning satellite (GPS): drained as salt water is brought in by the tides living organisms navigational satellites that can provide accurate Chromosome: a threadlike structure containing data on an object’s location Scat: animal waste; dung DNA found within the nucleus of living cells Habitat: a place where plants and animals have Scavenger: an animal that feeds on food captured Consumer: an organism that does not make its everything they need to survive or acquired by another animal own food; primary consumers eat producers, Hair: threadlike strands that grow from the skin of Scent marking: a body odor, scent from a gland, secondary consumers can eat primary consumers mammals and other animals urine or scat deposited in a geographic area to and producers, and tertiary consumers can eat communicate with others of the same species secondary and primary consumers and producers Hair snare: a device used by scientists to retrieve hair samples from bears to study their genetics Scientist: a person who studies the living or non- Coordinate: a group of numbers that indicates a living world point or plot on a map Herbivore: an animal that eats plants Sedge: a grass-like herb often found in salt marshes a large group of animals living together in Data: a collection of facts, numbers or text used to Herd: that grows in wet ground near water represent ideas or conditions the same area Species: a group of very similar organisms; the main area in which an animal Decomposer: a living organism at the base of Home range: individuals in the same species can mate to lives and travels a food web that breaks down and recycles produce fertile offspring nutrients from dead animals and plants Human-wildlife conflict: a negative interaction Teeth: enamel coated structures found in between people and animals that impacts them Den: a shelter in which a resting bear spends the vertebrates used for biting and chewing winter months or their environment Territory: an area defended by an animal narrow-edged teeth found in the front Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA): the genetic Incisors: Threat: indication of impending harm; something material, made up of proteins called amino acids, section of the mouth specialized for cutting and that negatively impacts the survival of an found within most living organisms tearing organism imaginary lines used to measure the Development: land use planning that includes Latitude: Tracking collar: a special band of material placed the building of structures, such as roads, houses, distance north or south from the equator around the neck that is equipped with a device schools and shops, for human use actions or mannerisms that are Learned behavior: to record an animal’s movement throughout not instinctive but are taught through experience Digits: the name for an appendage found on an its habitat organism’s hand or foot; fingers and toes Longitude: imaginary lines used to measure the Tree scratching: a behavior in which brown bears distance east or west from the prime meridian Ecosystem: the interaction of all living and use their front claws to score the trunks of trees nonliving components found within a given area Meadow: a grassy area of land typically found near in order to mark their territory and communicate a body of water Energy: ability to do work; energy can take many with other bears forms including heat and light. Plants make Molars: flat teeth used for grinding found in the Wildlife corridor: a habitat that connects wildlife energy using sunlight through the process of back of a mammal’s mouth populations separated by human-made structures photosynthesis; animals obtain energy from the Navigate: to plan and direct a course using such as roads or housing developments food they eat measurements or maps

DIRECTIONS: Place one food, one water and one cover card into each ecosystem below to learn where brown bears live and the habitat elements they need to survive.

Den Puddle Berries

Forest

Lake Sedge Snowshoe Hare

Sedge Meadow

River Bank River Salmon

River

Visit a local, state or national park to learn more about plants, animals and wildlife habitats near you!

How many digits, or fingers, How long is the average What does a young bear use 1 does a bear paw have? 2 brown bear claw? 3 its claws for?

a. 5 a. 40-80 inches (100-200 cm) a. To find food b. 4 b. 11-19 inches (30-50 cm) b. To climb trees c. 3 c. 1-4 inches (5-10 cm) c. Both a and b

© 2013 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Celebrate Earth Day 2014 In Theatres April 18 How do scientists use footprints to ACTIVITY SHEET 2 8 study bears? GRADES 2-3 ANSWER KEY Which Brown Bears Visited This River?

The river is a popular spot for brown bears in Katmai National Park! Use the back footprints from the brown bear Identiﬁcation Guide to decide which prints belong to each bear.

4 3 2

Based on my observations, these brown bear footprints Why do you think bears are visiting this river? belong to:

1. Chinook 2. Amber Do you think this area of the river should be protected? Why or why not?

3. Scout 4. Sky

5SEAlELDGUIDETOLOOKFORANDIDENTIFYANIMALFOOTPRINTSINYOUR backyard or near your school!

Help this family make their campsite safe by circling the things below that are good practices and placing an X on the wrong practices.

Do your research before you visit a park! Learn more about the animals that live there and how you can be safe when you visit.