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Mammals

Bears

Bears
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 3 to 4
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   3.12

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    panda, stubby, equator, mainly, layer, especially, blubber, hump, bamboo, roots, cinnamon, swimmers, southern, birth, mostly, region
     content words:    South America, Sri Lanka, United States, North Pole, Arctic Ocean

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Bears
By Cindy Grigg 		  
1     Bears are mammals. Mammals have hair or fur on their large round bodies. They have short stubby tails. They have big strong legs. They can run fast. They have long claws on their feet. Bears usually walk on all four feet like dogs do. Sometimes, though, bears stand up on their back legs. This helps them to see farther away. Most bears eat plants and animals. They have a good sense of smell. This helps them to find food. They cannot see very well. Bears have thick fur all over their bodies.
 
2     There are eight kinds of bears. They are the giant panda, spectacled bear, sun bear, sloth bear, Asiatic black bear, American black bear, brown bear, and polar bear. Most bears live north of the equator. Bears are not found in Africa, Australia, or Antarctica.
 
3     Different bears are different colors and different sizes. They like to eat different things. Some bears are very large. They are dangerous. Some bears are not. Many bears are fast runners. Many of them are good swimmers, too. Most bears are good climbers.
 
4     Many people's favorite bear is the giant panda. For many years, though, giant pandas were thought to be related to raccoons. Only in recent years have pandas been considered to be a member of the bear family. Giant pandas live in the forests of China. Their black and white fur with black around their eyes sets them apart from other bears. They may weigh from 165 to 300 pounds. Their favorite food is bamboo. They may eat up to sixty pounds of bamboo each day!
 
5     The only bears that live in South America are called spectacled bears because of the light colored fur around their eyes. They look like they are wearing glasses, or spectacles. They eat mainly fruits and nuts. Because their favorite foods grow in trees, spectacled bears are very good climbers.

Paragraphs 6 to 11:
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