Bula bear

The Bula brown bear, sometimes simply called Bula bears, are a species of bear that inhabits the inland highland and mountainous regions of Abayad, having been brought back from the edge of extinction thanks to fervent conservation efforts beginning in the latter half of the 15th century. The Bula Bear is the only bear native to Abayad. Once living throughout the entirety of the peninsula as an apex predator, the animal was nearly driven to the point of extinction by a combination of human encroachment and hunting.

Their fur is brownish black in color, although it acquires an orangish-red hue under its belly. Its fur can grow up to 13 cm long in winter months, and the species can grow up to 2.7 m long and weigh up to 450 kg. It mostly feeds on roots, acorns, and nuts, and is mostly herbivorous, although will eat meat when given the opportunity. Where the bears actually originate from is unknown, as one genetic study was unable to link it to any neighboring brown bear subspecies. However, weak but not-insignificant links to the polar bear have suggested to some that they are descended from a population pocket that existed during the last ice age in and around the glaciers that formed to Abayad’s north.

Description
There are believed to be less than 2,000 specimens remaining of the species, mostly living in the unpopulated, high elevation interior of the peninsula. The species is often described as nocturnal, although it seems to peak in activity in the morning and early evening hours. The species is mostly solitary, although bears will gather in large numbers at major food sources (open garbage dumps, most recently) and form social hierarchies based on age and size. Adult males are particularly aggressive and are avoided by adolescent males, both at concentrated feedings and chance encounters. Females, called sows, rival males in aggression, especially if they have cubs, being much more intolerant of other bears than singular females. Adolescent males tend to be the least aggressive. Dominance is determined by showing off canines, growling, bellowing, and standing on their back paws. During combat, they use their paws and claws to strike opponents in the chest or shoulders and bite the head or neck. Sounds expressing anger or aggravation include growls, roars, woofs, champs and smacks, while sounds expressing nervousness or pain include woofs, grunts and bawls. Sows will bleat or hum when communicating with their cubs

Mating season is from early to late summer, shifting later the further in altitude the bears are found. Being serially monogamous, they remain with the same mate from a few days to weeks. Outside this frame, males and females show little to no sexual interest in one another. Rearing of cubs is left entirely to the female - in fact, other males will sometimes attempt to kill a female’s cubs during mating season so she will go into estrus, giving him a chance at reproduction. Cubs are fully dependent on the sow and rely on her to teach important survival skills.

Despite their reputation as the nation’s largest predator, most Bula Bears are not highly carnivorous, as they derive up to 90% of their energy from plant matter. They often feed on a variety of plant life, including berries, grasses, flowers, acorns, and pine cones, as well as certain mushrooms. The inland Tinifghani people call the bears birevebirin, or “mushroom guides,” as it is said that their ancestors learned which mushrooms were safe to eat by watching the bears. The animals are also known to dig for roots and shoots with their strong claws. The bears will commonly consume animal matter, from insects, larvae, and grubs to marmots and deer. They have been known to very rarely prey on domesticated animals such as goats or sheep in starvation conditions due to their very powerful instinct to avoid humans. Bula bears also eat a great deal of carrion, and have been known to intimidate other predators such as feral dogs away from freshly-made kills. The bears have lives that can go up to 28 years before their deaths, although the average is 25. Mortality rates range between 13-44% in protected areas, with ones going as high as 77-100% outside these not being unheard of, depending on the year.

History
For all of the region’s history, the bears have been the subject of fear and disdain by the region’s human inhabitants. Since ancient times, humans have hunted and killed the bears, either for sport or thinking to protect their livestock. The Tinifghani people of the central mountains exhibited a degree of respect not seen by the lowlander Abayadis, and seem to have been more hesitant in killing them unless absolutely necessary, perhaps out of some kind of spiritual attachment to the creatures. After the introduction of firearms to the region, the bears were pushed deep inland and into the mountains, nearing extinction. However, in 1456, with the founding of the republic, conservation efforts were started by the new government to preserve Abayad’s national symbols, including its Bula bears. Today, nature preserves in the nation’s inland hold the remaining species members, divided between northern and southern ranges. However, programs to “exchange” bears from both populations and ensure genetic diversity have been successful, as have attempts to breed in captivity in zoos before releasing them into the wild.