Father's Day fun: Which Brookfield Zoo bear best represents your dad?

ByABC7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo
Monday, June 21, 2021
Chicago's Brookfield Zoo wants you to pick which bear best represent your dad
The Brookfield Zoo wants you to choose the bear that best represents your dad in honor of Father's Day: Polar Bear, Sloth Bear, or Brown Bear.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Brookfield Zoo wants you to choose the bear that best represents your dad.

The zoo says, just like the many different types of dads, there are many differences between bears.

But how do you know? Let's take a look at each bear's most iconic and well-known traits.

Polar Bears

These bears are best known for being dedicated hunters. They have huge home ranges and their keen sense of smell can detect prey from miles away, according to experts. Polar bears are also amazing swimmers and can swim for hours on end --even reaching speeds of up to six miles per hour! These cold-weather bears are also built to stay warm thanks to their thick layer of fur, tough hide and insulating fat layer.

Sloth Bears

While their name might imply laziness, these bears are anything but! Sloth bears are extremely intelligent and are known to showcase their vibrant personalities and behaviors, experts say. They are extremely resourceful eaters, slurping up termites and ants right out of nest mounds or rock crevices. They also have a spectacular sense of smell, which helps them find their meals.

Brown Bears

Ranging from seven to nine feet tall, and weighing as much as 1,110 pounds, these bears are extremely strong! But don't let their size fool you, they are also great runners and can reach speeds as high as 35 miles per hour! And chances are, if you can't find a brown bear, that's probably because it is off sleeping somewhere. Brown bears can spend four to six months in torpor, which is a state of low activity that resembles hibernation.

In honor of Father's Day, the zoo is asking people to donate to the bear that best fits your dad, or better yet, take a visit to the zoo and see the different kind of bears in person!