Bears belong to the family Ursidae.They are mostly omnivores, eating both plants and animals. Bears appear in a wide variety of habitats throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears can be found in North America, South America, Eurasia, and Antarctica. A few characteristics of modern bears are large bodies, stocky legs, long snouts, small rounded ears, shaggy hair, paws with five nonretractible claws, and short tails.