Tibetan blue bear facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ursus arctos pruinosus |
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| Tibetan blue bear at the Oji Zoo, Japan. | |
| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Ursidae |
| Genus: | Ursus |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: |
U. a. pruinosus
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| Trinomial name | |
| Ursus arctos pruinosus Blyth, 1854
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The Tibetan blue bear (Ursus arctos pruinosus) is a special type of brown bear. It lives in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. People also call it the Tibetan brown bear.
This bear is one of the rarest types of bears in the world. It is very hard to spot in the wild. Scientists first officially named it in 1851. For a long time, people in the Western world only knew about it from a few pieces of fur and bones. However, a French movie called The Velvet Queen in 2021 showed lots of video of this shy animal.
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What are its other names?
The Tibetan blue bear has many names! Some people call it the Himalayan blue bear or the Himalayan snow bear. It is also known as the horse bear. In the Tibetan language, its name is Dom gyamuk.
Sometimes, the Gobi bear is thought to be the same kind of bear as the Tibetan blue bear. This is because they look similar. Some people believe the Gobi bear is a small group of blue bears that got separated. But the Gobi bear is also sometimes seen as its own unique type of bear. It looks a lot like other brown bears in Asia.
Where does it live?
The Tibetan blue bear lives in the high mountains of the Tibetan Plateau. It is very hard to find them. Sometimes, a bear might travel through high mountain peaks. This could happen if they need to find more food. They might also be looking for a mate. But we do not have much information about where these bears live or what they do. So, it is hard to know for sure.
How is it protected?
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We do not know exactly how many blue bears are left. This is because there is not much information about them. But the United States has laws to protect them. These laws make it hard to buy or sell blue bear parts.
The bear is also listed in Appendix I of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). This means it is a protected animal around the world. The blue bear is in danger from illegal hunting. It is also threatened by people building in its habitat.
What about in stories and culture?
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The blue bear is famous because some people think it might be the real animal behind the yeti legend. The yeti is a mysterious creature from Himalayan folklore.
In 1960, a famous explorer named Sir Edmund Hillary led a trip to find the yeti. His team brought back two pieces of fur. Local people said it was 'yeti fur'. But later, scientists looked at the fur. They found out it was actually from a blue bear!
See also
In Spanish: Oso azul tibetano para niños
