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Glossary Printable version  |
| Anthropomorphism Giving human characteristics to animals or inanimate objects. For instance the "wise owl" or the "cuddly bear". |
| Annular Rings Growth rings on a bearÕs tooth that are used to determine the animalÕs age. |
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Biologist Someone who studies living organisms and their relationships to one another. |
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Blubber Layer of fat beneath an animal's skin (such as the polar bear) with the purpose of helping the animal keep its heat in. |
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Bluff Charge A charge in which a bear suddenly stops or veers off at the last moment. |
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Canids The family of wolves, foxes, dogs and their relatives. |
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Carnivorous An animal that eats mostly meat. |
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Carrion The bodies of dead animals, often in the process of decay. |
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Carrying Capacity The maximum population size that a given habitat can support indefinately by a given ecosystem without deterioration. The population of any organism will increase until a limiting factor in the environment imposes some resistance to further population growth. For instance, a series of years with a poor berry crop could limit the numbers of grizzly bears a given area of tundra could support. |
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Classification In biology, the process of assigning living things into categories such as kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species, and subspecies. |
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Claw A sharp, usually slender curved nail on the toe of an animal. |
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Climate A The average weather (usually taken over a 30-year time period) for a particular region and time period. Climate is not the same as weather, but rather, it is the average pattern of weather for a particular region. Weather describes the short-term state of the atmosphere. Climatic elements include precipitation, temperature, humidity, sunshine, wind velocity, phenomena such as fog, frost, and hail storms, and other measures of the weather. |
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Climate Change A The term "climate change" is sometimes used to refer to all forms of climatic inconsistency, but because the Earth's climate is never static, the term is more properly used to imply a significant change from one climatic condition to another. In some cases, "climate change" has been used synonymously with the term, "global warming"; scientists however, tend to use the term in the wider sense to also include natural changes in climate. |
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Delayed Implantation A reproductive process in some mammals such as bears, seals and sea lions, where implantation of the fertilized egg into the uterus is delayed after conception. During this time, development of the embryo halts completely as it floats freely in the uterus for several months. In bears, the nutritional state of the female just before hibernation determines whether or not the egg will implant. If she has not put on enough fat reserves to support both herself and the developing fetus during pregnancy, the embryo will not implant. This is one of the main reasons why habitat quality and diet are so important for the productivity of grizzlies. |
| Digitigrade Walking on the digits or toes of the foot, as horses do for example. |
| Downwind The direction the wind is blowing to. If the wind is blowing from the bear to you, you are downwind of the bear (see upwind). |
| Ecosystem An interacting and interrelated community of living and non-living things. Ecosystems are constantly changing as energy and matter move through them. |
| Ecotourism People traveling in a way that promotes an understanding of an area's culture and natural history while protecting the integrity of the environment. Ecotourism often brings economic benefits to an area that promote conservation. |
| Encounter A meeting between a bear and a person. |
| Endangered A species of animal or plant that is in immediate danger of becoming extinct. In extremely serious trouble, more than threatened. |
| Extinction When a species ceases to exist as a reproducing population. A species that is no longer living anywhere in its range. |
| Extreme Weather Event A weather event that occurs infrequently at a particular place and that is usually (but not necessarily) hazardous (potential for causing significant damage). By definition, the characteristics of what is called "extreme weather" may vary from place to place. For example, abundant snowfall during an Ottawa winter is not considered "extreme" insomuch as it would during a Kenyan winter. |
| Forbs Includes weeds, herbs, low-growing annuals and perennial herbaceous plants. |
| Gestation The process of carrying developing animal in the womb from fertilization to birth. |
| Green-up A time in spring and early summer when grasses and other forbs are lush with new growth that is rich in protein. |
| Guard hairs The short fur close to a polar bear's skin; the fur with the purpose of keeping a polar bear's body heat next to its skin. |
| Habitat The place where an animal lives, its home. This includes the main habitat components of food, water, shelter and space. |
| Herb Any flowering plant or fern that has a soft, woody stem. |
| Herbivore A primary consumer; an animal that eats only plants. |
| Herbivorous Having the diet of a herbivore. |
| Hibernation A general term referring to "Winter sleep" Ð a condition in which an animal's body temperature drops and its heart rate and breathing slow down. The are various kinds of hibernation. For instance, Òtrue hibernationÓ is a a physiological state in which an animal's body temperature plunges to about the level of its surroundings. Its heart rate, respiration, and other metabolic functions also fall to low levels as in arctic ground squirrels. ÒTorporÓ is similar but while in this state, an animalÕs body temperature drops only slightly as in grizzly bears. |
| Limiting Factor Any environmental factor (such as temperature, food, space) whose absence, short supply, or excessive concentration exerts some restraining or negative influence on a population once certain thresholds of tolerance are reached. (see carrying capacity) |
| Mortality Rate Rate at which animals die in a population. |
| Non-retractable Claws The condition of not being able to draw the claws into pockets of an animal's paws. For example, bears, wolves and foxes cannot retract their claws while lynx and other members of the cat family can. |
| Nuisance bear An arbitrary term applied to bears involved in bear-human conflicts. Usually, bears that have become too familiar with humans (habituated), and are no longer afraid of humans and their activities or structures. Usually dangerous, these bears often become this way due to Ònuisance humansÓ who create bear problems due to improper food handling or garbage disposal in bear habitat. |
| Omnivore An animal that will eat almost any plant or animal. |
| Opportunistic Taking advantage of any situation that is favourable. Bears do this all the time when it comes to what they eat. |
| Pad The cushion part of the foot near the toes. |
| Paw The foot of an animal. |
| Permafrost Soil or rock that remains at or below 00C for at least two years. |
| Plantigrade An animal that walks with the entire lower part of its foot on the ground ÂÐ the sole, heel, and pad touching Ð such as bears and humans. |
| Population A group of individuals, usually of the same species or sub-species, that inhabit a given area at a point in time. |
| Predator An animal that eats other animals. |
| Prey An animal that is eaten by another animal. |
| Print An impression, usually made by a foot. |
| Range The general distribution of a species or subspecies. An area of available habitat used by animals or plants. |
| Scat An animal's droppings, the study of which helps biologists determine what it eats. The study of scats for such purposes is called scatology. This term is usually limited to carnivores. |
| Scavenger An animal that eats dead plant or animal matter. Northern examples of carnivorous scavengers include foxes, gulls and ravens that feed on dead animals. Herbivorous scavengers could include beetles and other insects that feed on dead and decaying wood. |
| Sign Marks, tracks, scat or other evidence of an animal's presence. |
| Sole The area of the foot between the pad and the heel. |
| Species A taxonomic category of animals or plants that are more or less alike and that interbreed and produce fertile offspring. |
| Subspecies A taxonomic category below a species. Usually applied to a fairly permanent and geographically isolated variety of animals within a species. For instance, while brown bears all over the world are classified as Ursus arctos , subspecies include AlaskaÕs Kodiak bear Ursus arctos middendorffi, the Eurasian Brown Bear, Ursus arctos artos; and the grizzly, Ursus arctos horribilis. |
| Taxonomy The science of classifying or organizing the natural world into different groups, for instance, families, species, subspecies, etc. |
| Threatened A species of animal or plant that is likely to become endangered and could, if not protected, become extinct. In more serious trouble than vulnerable. |
| Toponymy The study of the origin and significance of place names. |
| Toponymy Track A trail of bear paw prints. |
| Trait A distinguishing characteristic. |
| Tundra A cold, treeless region. In the northern hemisphere tundra is confined mostly to latitudes beyond 600N and includes the far northern regions of Canada, Alaska, Siberia, and Scandinavia. Tundra is also found in high altitude or mountainous regions where it is too cold for trees to grow. Most tundra is characterized by ground hugging shrubs, mosses and lichens that grow in thin soils underlain by permafrost. In most cases, it is a combination of intense drought and very low temperatures that limit tree growth. Small pockets of trees Ð ususally spruce Ð may grow on the tundra in warm, sheltered habitats. |
| Upwind The direction the wind is blowing from. If wind is blowing from you to the bear, you are upwind of the bear (see downwind). |
| Ursa Major The "Great Bear" star constellation. The tail and middle parts of this cosmic bear are formed by the well known Big Dipper. |
| Ursa Minor The "Little Bear" star constellation. This includes the Little Dipper. 680 light years away, at the very tip of the little bear's tail (the end of the dipper's handle) is Polaris, also known as the North Star, around which all other stars appear to rotate in a counter-clockwise fashion. |
| Vulnerable Any species of animal or plant that is at risk because of low or declining numbers, or it is limited to the fringe of its range. One step down in seriousness from threatened. |
| Weather Weather is the specific condition of the atmosphere at a particular place and time. It is measured in terms of such things as wind, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, cloudiness, and precipitation. In most places, weather can change from hour-to-hour, day-to-day, and season-to-season. Climate is the average of weather over time and space. A simple way of remembering the difference is that 'climate' is what you expect (e.g., cold winters) and 'weather' is what you get (e.g., a blizzard). |