2. Grizzly Bear: a subspecies of the brown bear Type: Mammal Diet: Omnivore Average life span in the wild: 25 years Size: 5 to 8 ft Weight: 800 lbs Status: Threatened Fact: Grizzlies are quite fast and have been clocked at 30 miles an hour.

3. Kodiak Bear: a type of brown bear Type: Mammal Diet: Omnivore Average life span in the wild: 25 years Size: 5 to 8 ft Weight: 700 lbs Fact: Kodiak bears are a particularly large subspecies of brown bear, endemic only to the Kodiak archipelago off the Alaska coast.

4. Black Bear: North America’s most common and familiar bear Type: Mammal Diet: Omnivore Average life span in the wild: 20 yrs. Size: 5 to 6 ft long Weight: 200-600 lbs Fact: Black bears are not true hibernators. During their winter dormant period, though, they do not eat, drink, urinate, or defecate, but may wake up if disturbed.

5. Polar bear: lives in the Arctic circle (North Pole) Type: Mammal Diet: Carnivore Average life span in the wild: 25-30 yr Size: Head and body, 7 to 8 ft; Tail, 3 to 5 in Weight: 900 to 1,600 lbs Fact: The bear's stark white coat provides camouflage in surrounding snow and ice. But under their fur, polar bears have black skin—the better to soak in the sun's warming rays.

6. Sun bear: lives in Southeast Asia, is nocturnal Type: Mammal Average life span: Up to 25 years Size: 4-5 ft long Weight: 60-150 lbs Fact: Sun bears take their name from the bib- shaped golden or white patch on their chest, which legend says represents the rising sun. They have a stocky, muscular build, small ears, and a short muzzle, which has earned them the nickname “dog bear.”

7. Spectacled bear: only bear native to South America Type: Mammal Diet: Omnivore Average life span in captivity: Up to 25 years Size: 5-6 ft Weight: Males, 220- 340 lbs Fact: Spectacled bears’ face, neck, and chest markings are, like human fingerprints, unique to each bear.

8. Sloth Bear: lives in the forests of South Asia Type: Mammal Diet: Omnivore Average life span in captivity: Up to 40 years Size: 5-6 ft ; Tail, 2-5 in Weight: 120-310 lbs Fact: Sloth bears are the only bears that carry their young on their back.

9. Source: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammalshttp://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals