Kodiak Bear

Kodiak Bear
コディアックヒグマ
Character Data
AKA		Alaskan Brown Bear
Romaji		Kodiakkuhiguma
Debut		Kemono Friends (2015 Game)
Animal Data
Scientific Name		Ursus arctos middendorffi
Distribution		Kodiak Archipelago
Diet		Omnivore
Avg. Lifespan		28 years
Read More		Kodiak bear
Conservation

Kodiak Bear​

Anime​

Festival​

Pavilion​

KF3​

Nexon Game​

Gallery

“I'm Kodiak Bear of "Large Love Bears" yeah. Just between you and me, I like small things compared to large things, yes. I'm get pushed around by those two vigors and I can't do anything but to help them... I can't scream "S, small is better"... that's because kemono's relationship is important, yes... ”
—Kodiak Bear's introduction

The Kodiak Bear is a type of mammal Friend that debuted in the original Kemono Friends mobile game and later cameoed in the Kemono Friends anime. She has since appeared in Kemono Friends 3.

Appearance

Kodiak Bear's old and new design are overall similar with their color schemes, but are still markedly different.

In her old design, Kodiak had a bob cut with two small pigtails and choppy bangs in a warm brown tone. Adorning the middle of her forehead was a big pink bow with two white letter L's on either side and a tiny white heart in the middle. Her teal eyes had an anxious appearance. The shirt was a sleeveless white dress shirt with another pink bow. The skirt was the same brown as her hair and in an A-Line style with waves at the bottom, almost like a sailor skirt without pleats.

Dark brown, thigh high furry leggings and equally furry elbow-length gloves accented the outfit. On each glove was another tiny pink bow. Lastly, she had dark brown Mary Jane style shoes. As with most of the Bear Friends, she had a "mace" like weapon in the shape of a bear's paw. The paw was the same dark brown as her gloves and also had a pink bow on the "wrist" part. However the claws were rather small and almost appeared dull.

In her new design, Kodiak's hair is very similar bob cut with the same pigtails, but it now has a gradient with a warm brown at the top and dark brown at the bottom. There is a small white splotch in the middle of her bangs. She's switched her pink bow for an equally pink Hachimaki bandana. The Hachimaki has a small heart-like design on the front. Her eyes, while still anxious, are now brown with a teal spot at the bottom; this seems to be a case of Sectoral heterochromia.

Her shirt is still a sleeveless white dress shirt, but the previous pink bow has been replaced with a chocolate brown ruffled bow. The skirt is now double layered, with a dark brown cloth upper layer and a furry, warm brown underlayer. Whereas the gloves went to her elbows before, they now only go to her forearm and are the same warm-to-dark gradient brown as Kodiak Bear's hair. There is a pink ribbon tied around her wrists which rests in a bow on top. Her thigh high leggings also have the gradient. Completing her outfit is a pair of white Mary Jane shoes. Kodiak's "mace" is largely the same, but now has a red handle, bigger pink bow, pink handle wraps, and longer, more sharp claws.

Series Appearances

Appearances In Kemono Friends Media

Media		Role

In Real Life

A bear in Kodiak Island, Alaska, US. Photo by Yathin S Krishnappa.

The Kodiak bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi) is a member of the Ursidae family. It lives in the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago in southwest Alaska. It is one of the largest recognized subspecies of the Brown Bear, and one of the two largest bears alive today.

Kodiak Bears are massive animals, ranging anywhere between 115 and 360kg (254 and 794lb). Females are typically 181 to 318 kg (399 to 701 lb.), whereas males are usually 272 to 635 kg (600 to 1,400 lb.). Their height is also quite impressive: the average adult male measures 244 cm (8 ft 0 in) in length, and when standing on all fours, they average 1.5 m (4.9 ft.) tall at the shoulder. However when standing on their hind legs, a fully mature male can reach a frightening height of 3 m (9.8 ft).

They are diurnal animals (active during the day), however if there is competition for food they will adopt a nocturnal lifestyle. While they do not defend specific territories, the bears do have preferred "home ranges" they return to year after year. In 2005, the Kodiak bear population was estimated to include 3,526 bears, and has been slowly increasing during the last decade.

A mother Kodiak bear with her three cubs. Photo by Larry Aumiller via the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Hibernation season starts around October, which is when the bears start looking for dens. Pregnant females are the first to go in the dens, with the mature males entering last. On the contrary, males will start emerging from the dens early April and the females (especially ones with new cubs) will stay hidden until late June. Most dens are built into hill or mountainsides, and can vary depending on which island they inhabit.

Mating season for Kodiak bears is during May and June, whereas the cubs are born during January or February in their mother's den. A typical litter is two or three cubs, however some mothers have been seen with five or six (some hypothesize this to be adopting cubs from other litters). Once they leave the den, the babies will stay with their mothers for up to three years. Unfortunately about half of cubs born will not survive before leaving. Young cubs (especially ones 3-5 years old) have very high mortality rates- only 56% of males and 89% of females survive to reproduce.

Usually, Kodiak bears try to avoid humans. Exceptions to this behavior occur when bears are surprised, threatened, or attracted by human food, garbage, or hunter-killed game. However, there have been an increase in encounters due to increases in the local population as well as increased hunting of Kodiak bears. While some conservation efforts have been put in place to control hunting, Kodiak Bears are not on the list of endangered species due to being considered a sub species of the Brown Bear (which is considered Least Concern).

Trivia

• Other names include the Kodiak brown bear and the Alaskan brown bear.
• Males are called "boars" and females are called "sows".
• The record for the largest Kodiak Bear was an individual named Clyde- Clyde weighed about 966 kg (2,130 lb.) and stood at over 9 ft. tall. He lived at the Dakota Zoo in Bismark, ND until his passing in June 1987. He was 22 years old.
• About a quarter of the adult bears do not den, staying somewhat active throughout the winter.
• The oldest known male bear (in the wild) was 27 years old, and the oldest female was 35.
• The bear is important to the Alutiiq people. Its Alutiiq name is Taquka’aq (lit. "Bear"), with the pronunciation varying between Northern and Southern dialects.

References

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodiak_bear
• "Kodiak Bear Fact Sheet" (PDF). Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation. 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
• "Mammalian Species: Ursus arctos" (PDF). April 23, 1993. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
• Clyde the Bear
• Van Daele, L.J. (2007). "Population dynamics and management of brown bears on Kodiak Island, Alaska" (PDF). Doctoral dissertation. University of Idaho, Moscow, U.S. Retrieved 30 April 2008.