They were portrayed as cute and cuddly when we are children. The Teddy Bear is synonymous with childhood. But their real-life counterparts are not so nice. They will attack and eat you.

Bears are global with the exception of Antarctica and Australia. They are survivors, adapting to prevailing circumstances. But then humans came along and now these great mammals are struggling. The decline of the Polar Bear, which is the largest land carnivore, is a sign of the negative impact our species is having on theirs.

But how much does the average person know about bears? Did you know that there are only eight remaining species of bear? You might then wonder how the title of this article has a top ten of the biggest, but this list takes in sub-species. The Kodiak Bear, for example, is a sub-species of the Brown Bear (you thought you had us there, didn’t you?).

So have a look at the video, so that the next time someone brings up the subject of bears at your dinner-party, you can wax lyrical and astound them with factoids. Species, sub-species, size, distribution, it’s all there. Pass the potatoes, please.

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