When Is A Bear Not A Bear?

  When I speak of bears, most people think of Brown, Black, or Grizzly bears.  You'll see the brown bears if you ever visit Denali National Park and ride the buses. 

Years ago, I took a trip into the park, as far as I could go on the bus and on the way back the driver spotted a couple bears off to the side of the road.  He stopped and everyone whipped out their cameras to snap as many pictures as they could.  No one was allowed out of the bus for safety reasons.

But not everything called a bear is actually a bear!  I will reassure you that a Panda is a actually a bear according to its DNA however it seems to share characteristics with both the bear family and the racoon family!

It is similar to the Red Panda in the racoon family due to the fact it eats bamboo, grip the bamboo in the same way and have similar snouts, teeth, and claws.  Other the other hand it resembles the bears due to its similar size and shape.  It also has the same shaggy fur and walks and climbs in the same manner. 

So is it a bear or racoon?  Well the debate still abounds so I don't think the discussion will ever end on this one but on the other hand the Koala Bear is definitely not a bear.  They are actually a marsupial or pouched mammal.  They are actually related to wombats and kangaroos.

It acquired the name bear when settlers first saw the creatures and noted they looked similar to bears so the name stuck.  Yes the creature is cute but it lives in Eucalyptus trees and seldom leaves the trees.  They are even able to obtain most of the moisture they need from the same leaves.

So you see, not everything called a bear is actually a bear and even then one is sort of a bear but not quite.  I hope you enjoyed this.  Have a good day.