Return to Answer

added protection of specific people.

Source Link

edited Oct 22, 2016 at 17:59

32.1k
4
61
142

Brown bears can be found in many habitats, from the fringes of deserts to high mountain forests and ice fields. In Europe, the brown bear is mostly found in mountain woodlands, in Siberia it occurs primarily in forests while in North America they prefer tundra, alpine meadows and coastlines. The species' main requirements are areas with dense cover in which they can shelter by day. Link to source

Most bears, like the browns above don't thrive in rainforest-type environs, but there are some like the Speckled Bear that do. Note that smaller bears tend to use trees more.

Most bears are fairly solitary, however, they will be seen near each other when food is more abundant. I believe that if they are domesticated and fed regularly, you can train them out of the more solitary behavior. I would say a hunter could make use of two of them very efficiently.

Ideas for use

If they are trainable, and there is agriculture, you could get them to focus on eating bugs to help with crops. They should only be trained to eat fruit that they are given. As kingledion suggested in his answer, they can also be encouraged to kill/ drive out other animals. The fact that they are smaller might mean that they are more agile and can be used this way.
Use them for hunting game, as you would a catch dog. Again they should only be trained to take a certain amount or just food from the trainer.
As trackers. There is actually some evidence out there that bears can and do track food sources and people...in some cases, very, very patiently.
Although they are not protective of places, they are protective of cubs. If that can be transferred to a specific person, they might make good body guards, if they are awake.

Bad ideas

Using bears to guard a geographical area. Most bears are not naturally territorial, so unlike a dog, they make very poor guards. This is despite good hearing, decent vision, and sense of smell. They just don't alert to much.
Making them into a herd. Bears can be social, but they don't group up naturally and I believe that conflicts will arise if you force this. Having them stay with their trainers and know each other seems feasible, but keeping a standard herd of them seems like a bad idea, given what there is about their natural behavior.

Brown bears can be found in many habitats, from the fringes of deserts to high mountain forests and ice fields. In Europe, the brown bear is mostly found in mountain woodlands, in Siberia it occurs primarily in forests while in North America they prefer tundra, alpine meadows and coastlines. The species' main requirements are areas with dense cover in which they can shelter by day. Link to source

Most bears, like the browns above don't thrive in rainforest-type environs, but there are some like the Speckled Bear that do. Note that smaller bears tend to use trees more.

Ideas for use

If they are trainable, and there is agriculture, you could get them to focus on eating bugs to help with crops. They should only be trained to eat fruit that they are given. As kingledion suggested in his answer, they can also be encouraged to kill/ drive out other animals. The fact that they are smaller might mean that they are more agile and can be used this way.
Use them for hunting game, as you would a catch dog. Again they should only be trained to take a certain amount or just food from the trainer.
As trackers. There is actually some evidence out there that bears can and do track food sources and people...in some cases, very, very patiently.

Bad ideas

Using bears to guard a geographical area. Most bears are not naturally territorial, so unlike a dog, they make very poor guards. This is despite good hearing, decent vision, and sense of smell. They just don't alert to much.
Making them into a herd. Bears can be social, but they don't group up naturally and I believe that conflicts will arise if you force this. Having them stay with their trainers and know each other seems feasible, but keeping a standard herd of them seems like a bad idea, given what there is about their natural behavior.

Brown bears can be found in many habitats, from the fringes of deserts to high mountain forests and ice fields. In Europe, the brown bear is mostly found in mountain woodlands, in Siberia it occurs primarily in forests while in North America they prefer tundra, alpine meadows and coastlines. The species' main requirements are areas with dense cover in which they can shelter by day. Link to source

Most bears, like the browns above don't thrive in rainforest-type environs, but there are some like the Speckled Bear that do. Note that smaller bears tend to use trees more.

Ideas for use

If they are trainable, and there is agriculture, you could get them to focus on eating bugs to help with crops. They should only be trained to eat fruit that they are given. As kingledion suggested in his answer, they can also be encouraged to kill/ drive out other animals. The fact that they are smaller might mean that they are more agile and can be used this way.
Use them for hunting game, as you would a catch dog. Again they should only be trained to take a certain amount or just food from the trainer.
As trackers. There is actually some evidence out there that bears can and do track food sources and people...in some cases, very, very patiently.
Although they are not protective of places, they are protective of cubs. If that can be transferred to a specific person, they might make good body guards, if they are awake.

Bad ideas

Using bears to guard a geographical area. Most bears are not naturally territorial, so unlike a dog, they make very poor guards. This is despite good hearing, decent vision, and sense of smell. They just don't alert to much.
Making them into a herd. Bears can be social, but they don't group up naturally and I believe that conflicts will arise if you force this. Having them stay with their trainers and know each other seems feasible, but keeping a standard herd of them seems like a bad idea, given what there is about their natural behavior.

Source Link

created Oct 22, 2016 at 11:51

Erin Thursby

32.1k
4
61
142

Brown bears can be found in many habitats, from the fringes of deserts to high mountain forests and ice fields. In Europe, the brown bear is mostly found in mountain woodlands, in Siberia it occurs primarily in forests while in North America they prefer tundra, alpine meadows and coastlines. The species' main requirements are areas with dense cover in which they can shelter by day. Link to source

Most bears, like the browns above don't thrive in rainforest-type environs, but there are some like the Speckled Bear that do. Note that smaller bears tend to use trees more.

Ideas for use

If they are trainable, and there is agriculture, you could get them to focus on eating bugs to help with crops. They should only be trained to eat fruit that they are given. As kingledion suggested in his answer, they can also be encouraged to kill/ drive out other animals. The fact that they are smaller might mean that they are more agile and can be used this way.
Use them for hunting game, as you would a catch dog. Again they should only be trained to take a certain amount or just food from the trainer.
As trackers. There is actually some evidence out there that bears can and do track food sources and people...in some cases, very, very patiently.

Bad ideas

Using bears to guard a geographical area. Most bears are not naturally territorial, so unlike a dog, they make very poor guards. This is despite good hearing, decent vision, and sense of smell. They just don't alert to much.
Making them into a herd. Bears can be social, but they don't group up naturally and I believe that conflicts will arise if you force this. Having them stay with their trainers and know each other seems feasible, but keeping a standard herd of them seems like a bad idea, given what there is about their natural behavior.