From the cute little teddy bear in shops to sweet little bears in books and cartoons, bears have attracted the eyes of pretty much everyone from childhood. Bears are big, strong, and fast beasts which are pretty intelligent. They are known as the largest and most powerful monsters with large hands and legs that can even climb trees pretty fast but do bears have tails? How long is bear tails? Why bears have short tails? What they use it for? Is there really a purpose behind? Here’s the answer.
Here’s The Concise Answer…
Bears have short and compact tails. Bear’s tail is 6 – 22 cm and weighs 2 – 4 kilograms. Bears do have short tails which they use to cover their rear with and save cold from it (a little bit). Bears don’t have long tails and have short tails simply because they don’t need a long tail for balance, communicate, or for the reason other animals have and use. Unlike dogs that wag their tails when they get excited, bears do not wag their tail at all even when they get excited. They neither wag nor use it to communicate, balance or anything else except cover its rear and lifts it up for defecate and when mating. There’s no reason behind why bears should have long tails, and they live their life just like they had no tail, and it isn’t important to them at all.
Bears can run incredibly fast at the speed of 40mph km/h without tail that helps in balance. They have undeniably powerful brain that they can remember a food spot for upto 10 years and put into their tracks in mind.
The hairy appearance of bears consists of two special layers, one is of short fur and one of the long bear. These huge beasts have incredible teeth and bitting power that could crash bowling ball. With no doubt, bears are one of the strongest and powerful creatures of the wild with the sign of completion and power.
Do Bears Have Tails?
Do Bears Have Tails How Long Is It Do Bears Wag Their Tails…
We have all seen bears from childhood until now, but haven’t noticed bear’s tail and even don’t know whether bears have tails or not. That’s is because their tails is small and isn’t like squirrels or chipmunks long and noticeable.
There are around 8 species of different bears. North American Black Bears, Brown Bears, Polar Bears, Asiatic Black Bears, Panda Bears, Sloth Bears, Andean Bears and Sun Bears. All of the species of bears have unnoticeably short and stumpy tails.
However, small cubs and young bears tails are extremely small and invisible. The cubs and young bears have invisible tail until (4 – 5 years) when they are sexually mature or until they are fully grown up which is 8 – 10 years of age. Even when they’ve grown up, you can barely see their tails. The bears tail have a particular blood vessel and has fat and is covered with fur.
Bears are very clean and all of the bear’s species lift their little tails up and defecate and they also lift up their short tails when mating.
Do Bears Wag Their Tails?
While bears are determined as doglike carnivorans and bear characteristics appear pretty similar to dogs, bears do not wag their tails in pleasure, happiness, excitement, and enjoyment.
What Do Bears Use Their Tail For?
Unlike most critters, bears don’t use their tails for communication, balance, scent, signal each other or get signal and defend. Such as horses tails position and movement describe their emotional and physical state and also horses use it to keep the birds and flies away. Rodents like squirrels use their tails for communication, signal, scent, and their emotional state.
Kangaroos use their tail as their third leg especially when fighting and also without fighting, they use it for balancing. In fact, their tail is more important than their front and back legs and helps them walk, fight, and do their daily activities. Dogs, cats and some other animals like raccoons that jump from high use their tails to maintain their balance, jumping, climbing, running, and chasing one another.
These all have long tails which they make use to take support daily whereas bears don’t use their tails for none of the reasons they do. However, bears were also recognized to have long tails in the very past, but since not utilizing their tails, evolution took their tails and left them with very short tails.
In short, bears only use their tail for covering their anus, saving from cold and lifts them up when mating and defecating.
Why Do Bears Have Short Tails?
Realizing bears have tails, why do bears have short tails? While bears do not seem to have tails, they do have short tails but why is that?
In most animals, tails are used to communicate, signal, make fast turns to balance from falling down, but since bears are big wild beasts that are slow and don’t run much and neither use it for communication or a purpose, it’s of no use for bears to have long tails. Like lions use their long tails to balance (despite they are big, not as much compared to bears) and use their tails to lead other lions. But also female lions use it to signal cubs of following her and also use it to communicate for hunting and is also shows their emotional status.
Similarly, foxes use their tails to support balance and uses it to communicate, signal threat, and keep warm in the winter.
Unlike those, bears barely use their tails and do not use it except when defecate or mating. With no use, it makes no sense for bears to have long tails and that’s why bears have short tails. Even if they had long tails, their tails would still be of no use as bears are very heavy and can’t balance or take support with it.
Did Bears Have Long Tails?
Bears did have long tails in the past but rarely used them so, it became shorter and shorter to this position with the evolution, just like humans jaw.
Just for your information, humans were also very different in the past from now and had a large jaw due to their diet which was more of meat, bones, but with the past of time and change of their diet which consisted of soft foods, their jaw became smaller and smaller until it has now reached to its minimum level.
From a logical perspective, bears don’t need tails according to their size, situation and condition.
- Bears can run pretty fast but since they are so big and heavy, they do not need a tail to balance and suppose if bears had long tail, they couldn’t balance with it due to their weight. An adult polar bear weights about 450 kg and brown bear weighs 80 to 600 kg and American black bear weighs 60 – 300 kg.
- Bears are neither pursued by flies, reptilia or small creatures nor it helps them in swimming, climbing and walking or communicating. Instead, bears use to communicate with their heads up, that’s why the stand on their two back legs. They never use their tails like other animals do.
With these characteristics, bears do not need tails for non of the reasons long-tail animals have and use it, simple as that. That’s why it’s also short. They live like they had no tails, means without tails.
How Long is Bears Tail?
The largest tail among bear species is of brown bear which is 6 to 22 cm length and the polar bear has the shortest tail among bear species which is 7 – 13 cm. The black bears have a small tail which is 7.7 to 17.7 cm (3.0–7.0 in) long. These are the size tail size of an adult brown, black and polar bears tail.
However, other species of bear’s tail size isn’t measured yet and that depends on the age, size and species of the bear mostly.
How Much Bears Tail Weigh?
Since bears tail isn’t an important part of their body and so it isn’t discussed or talked about. That’s why most people and kids think bears have no tail.
The tail of an adult bear is 2 – 4 kilograms. It’s very less compared to what bears weigh, but its fine according to the size of the tail. Bears are anywhere from 60 – 600 kg depending on the size, age and species of the bear. The tail only cover bears rear and might save it a little bit from cold.
How The Bear Lost His Tail?
There’s a popular story of the bear which is “How the bear lost his tail” and is also known as “Why bears have short tail”. Here’s the brief story of how the bear lost his tail.
Hundred years ago, when bears had a long tail, in very cold winter, a bear was starving of hunger and come out for food. And saw a fox very happy and asked him how he is so happy when there’s no food? The fox replied him with yes, he’s right and his belly is full of food. The bear requested him to show how to fish because he’s so hungry and the fox agreed.
BTW, bears are omnivores so they eat everything just like raccoons even chocolates that is poisonous for them.
The fox told him to put his tail into an iced water and the fishes will catch and bite it up. And when there’s plenty of fish into your tail, pull it up and you will be amazed.
The bear believed and stuck his tail into the ice and waited assuming the fishes will catch and bite his tail. After plenty of time, the bear asked the fox if he has waited for enough time and the fox replied him with no and told him to wait more. The bear waited for so long that his tail froze in the ice and could not be pulled out. The bear tried to pull out but he couldn’t. The fox jokingly said, pull harder, your catch must be heavy. The bear pulled as hard as he can until he once pulled so hard that his tail split off in the ice. And that’s how bear lost his tail and that’s why bears have short tails.
Which Species of Bears Do Have Tails?
Bears consist and come from their ancestors common to cats, dogs, seals, and weasels over 55 million years ago. The first bear species to appear was the polar bear but bears have almost distributed everywhere around the world and have adapted their environment accordingly. These different environments resulted in different species which come with eight species that are American black bear, brown bear, polar bear, Asiatic black bear, Andean bear, panda bear, sloth bear, sun bear. Now which one does have tails? Let’s see.
Do Brown Bears Have Tails?
Brown bears that are also known as grizzly bears is in northern parts of the country but they are distributed across Europe, Asia, USA and Canada. Distribution into those many places makes lots of the population subspecies which are twelve in total. Like Kodiak bear which inhabits in the Kodiak archipelago in Alaska which is also known as Eurasian brown bear.
Brown bears have the largest tail among bear’s species with 6 to 22 cm length that no other bear species could be compared to. But that isn’t useful in any situation or in their activity. They barely climb and when they do, their tails doesn’t help. They are heaviest and fastest species among bears with the highest population in the world. Their tails don’t help or could do with their tails due to their weight.
Do Black Bears Have Tails?
The American black bears are medium-sized native to North America and live in the forests. Black bears tails are about 7.7 to 17.7 cm (3.0–7.0 in) long. The American black bears have great eyesight and sense of smell that is about seven times better than dogs and they are mainly active at night. Like other species of bears, they also hibernate in the winter and they are vegetation.
Do Polar Bears Have Tails?
As by its color, polar bears are the snow and ice critters that live in arctic regions. In addition, it’s white fur is perfect for camouflage in the snow allowing them to confuse its prey. The skin is black an important feature as this color facilities heat absorption.
While most of the bears have short tails, polar bears tail has the shortest that is 7 – 13 cm.
Do Pandas Have Tails?
Giant panda or panda bear is a bear species that has proved to be a bear species from the Ursidae family native to south-central China. But they are distributed across the world and the population have been significantly less but is, fortunately, growing up now. Pandas live in the temperate mountainous forests in China of attitudes of between 1200 and 3300 meters.
An adult panda bear has a tail of about 10–15 cm (4–6 in) in length. Pandas are a beautiful mixture of white and black. As their eyes, two back legs, and neck is black and their head, belly and tail are white. They have a little different tendency from other bears but has similar tail. And they don’t use it the same like other bears. So there’s no difference.
