Bears and Variation

People who go camping in parks populated with bears need to take certain precautions, because having a grizzly or some other Ursus in your campsite — ain't nobody got time for that. Those critters can get right ornery, especially since you're on their territory.

Play a little game. If you commence to searching for species and subspecies of bears, you'll find quite a few. Then ask your friends how many bears they can name. Worse would be to try to get people to identify them by pictures: brown, black with lighter fur, grizzly, the Kodiak (Alaskan grizzly or Kodiak brown), that can be a mite confusing. Even bears that are considered to be closely related can have wide varieties.

Photo credit: Polar bear by Steven C. Amstrup / USGS

Evolutionists will tell you that all those bears are different because of mutations over long periods of time. But mutations do not add genetic information to account for the diversification. Yes, creationists do accept speciation and natural selection, which support our paradigm. The biblical creationist view on the varieties of bears makes a great deal more sense than the arbitrary assertions and circular reasoning from the Darwinistas.

From the thick stomach lining of the panda and the partially webbed paws of the polar bear, to the insect-sucking muzzle of the sloth bear, bears provide a fascinating example of the variety of specialized characteristics existing within one family.

The bear family (Ursidae) consists of eight species, four of which are contained in the Ursus group: the brown bear, American black bear, Asiatic black bear and polar bear. Even within this group (known as a genus) the variation is wide.

The brown and American black bears are mainly vegetarians with appropriate dental features for crushing plant material. However, the first has claws suited to digging while the other has claws more suitable for climbing. The Asiatic black bear, which also has claws for climbing, is an opportunistic omnivorous feeder (eating meat and plants as available).

To read the rest, click on "Bears across the world".


 

Looking for a comment area?
You can start your own conversation by using the buttons below!