5603kc+Predator+Essay

Kruthika Chintamani 1/9/14 Pds. 5 & 6

 Cute and Cuddly?

The directors of Hunters of the Wild Lands museum are seeking nominations for predators to be recognized in its exhibits. When most people hear the word predator, they think of tigers and sharks, right? But what about an American Black Bear? An American Black Bear ranges in almost every state is the USA. Because of its unique skills, features, and inquisitive personality, black bears are an amazing addition to the HOWL Museum

One feature that compliments the black bear’s way of being a predator is its extremely sharp teeth. It has 42 teeth: 12 incisors, 4 canines, 16 premolars and 10 molars. After watching the movie Brave, you might think that black bears are vicious creatures; however, that is not the case. The black bear rarely uses its teeth to attack its prey; in fact, it only uses the teeth to snatch fish from streams in the spring and summer. You may think that the black bear is cute and cuddly, but the black bear has many physical features, like teeth, that can be used to catch its prey.

Another two features of the black bear are the black bear’s color vision and keen sense of smell. Is it true that a bear's sense of smell is 7 times greater than that of a bloodhound? It indeed is. An American Black Bear can smell trash and human garbage from far away. Bears have average eyesight, but it is definitely not color blind. It also has binocular vision. Which means that the it can see things that are far away. Bears’ acute sense of smell evolved in order to help them find food, mates, keep track of its cubs and avoid danger, particularly between competing individuals. Except for mother bears, bears are territorial animals that need to range widely to find enough food to sustain themselves. Although you may think that a Black bear can smell and see regularly, a bear can smell and sense your trash from far away. So be sure to close your trash can.

A black bear’s versatile diet is the most important feature that makes a black bear an effective predator. A black bear is omnivorous; its diet ranges from something as small as a berry, to as large as a baby deer. Carrion (dead animals) is often a part of a black bear's diet. To tell you the truth, a black bear does not enjoy the fact that it is a predator, because of its diet but it should be recognized. You may think that an American Black Bear is like a grizzly bear or a polar bear, but the black bear is not carnivorous or herbivorous, it is omnivorous.

In the future, a black bear may be recognized as the most fierce predator because of its teeth, hearing, vision, and versatile diet. You may think that a black bear is very common and boring, but once you realize that it is a predator, you will be shocked with its abilities. Along with all the American Black Bear’s features and personalities, I will propose the idea of having the American Black Bear in the HOWL museum.

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