American Black Bears

American black bears appear in a variety of colors despite their name. In

the eastern part of their range, most of      these bears have shiny black fur,

but in the west they grow brown, red, or even yellow coats. To the north,

the     black bear is actually gray or white in color. Even in the same litter,

both brown and black furred bears may be        born.

Black bears are the smallest of all American bears, ranging in length from

five to six feet, weighing from three         hundred to five hundred pounds. Their

eyes and ears are small and their eyesight and hearing are not as good as       

their sense of smell.

Like all bears, the black bear is timid, clumsy, and rarely dangerous, but

if attacked, most can climb trees and         cover  ground at  great speeds. When 

angry or frightened,  it is a formidable enemy.

Black bears feed on leaves, herbs, roots, fruit, berries, insects, fish,

and even larger animals. One of the most interesting characteristics of

bears, including the black bear, is their winter sleep. Unlike  squirrels, 

  woodchucks,  and  many  other  woodland  animals,  bears  do  not 

actually

hibernate. Although the bear does not eat during the winter months,

sustaining itself from body fat, its temperature remains almost normal, and

it breathes   regularly four or five times per minute.

Most black bears live  alone,  except  during mating season. They  prefer

to live  in  caves, hollow logs, or dense         thickets. A litter of one to four

cubs is born in January or February after a gestation period of six to nine      

months, and they remain with their  mother until they are fully grown or

about one and a half years old. Black bears can live as long as thirty

years in the wild, and even longer in game preserves set aside for them.

美國黑熊

美國黑熊雖然被叫做黑熊但卻有各種各樣的顏色。  在它們生活區(qū)域的東部，大部分黑 熊長有富有光澤的黑毛，但在西部，他們則長著棕色、紅色甚至是黃色的毛。

在北部，黑 熊其實長著灰色或白色的毛。 就是在一胎所生的小熊中，都可能混雜棕毛和黑毛。 黑熊是 所有美洲熊中最小的，5～6 英尺長，300～500

磅重。  它們的眼睛和耳朵都很小，他們的視 力和聽覺不如嗅覺那樣好。  像所有的熊一樣，黑熊膽小，笨拙，很少具有危險性。  但如果

受到攻擊，大部分黑熊會以很快的速度爬上樹和奔跑。  當發(fā)怒或受驚嚇時，黑熊會成為可 怕的對手。

黑熊以樹葉、草、樹根、水果、漿果、昆蟲、魚，甚至更大的動物為食。  熊類， 包括黑熊的最有趣的一個特點是他們的冬眠。

與松鼠、旱獺和其它別的林地動物不同，熊 并不真正地冬眠。  雖然熊在冬天的幾個月中不吃東西，靠體內(nèi)脂肪維持生命，但它們的體

溫保持正常，并有規(guī)律地一分鐘呼吸 4 或 5 次。除交配季節(jié)外，大多數(shù)黑熊獨自生活。  他 們喜歡住在洞里、空心的大木頭里或茂密的樹叢里。  經(jīng)過 6

到 9 個月的懷孕期后一胎 1～4 個小熊在 1 月或 2 月出生。  它們同母熊住在一起，直到它們完全長大，即 1 歲半左右。  黑

熊在野外可以活到長達 30 年，在專門的保護區(qū)中甚至能活得更長。

譯路通武漢漢口翻譯公司

2012.8.7