Disclaimer: What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.
Common Name: Teddiursa, Himeguma (juvenile) Ursaring, Ringuma (adult)
Scientific Name: Arctoecuculus meliphoros
Description: Ursaring are large mammalian pokemon, covered in shaggy brown fur, with a lighter, blunt muzzle and a beige ring on their abdomen. Ursaring have very long claws and sharp teeth, small rounded ears, and a shaggy 'mane' of fur around the shoulders, which is thicker in males than in females. They have a short, fluffy tail. Though they often walk on four legs, Ursaring are capable of standing on two, and are often trained to fight in this bipedal stance. Ursaring, fully erect, stand nearly 6 feet tall, and when on all fours are 34 inches high at the shoulder.
Juveniles, Teddiursa, have a charming, babyish appearance, with large dark eyes and big ears. They lack the beige ring, and instead have a light crescent mark on their foreheads, always facing right.
Range: Ursaring are only found in the mountains of eastern Johto, though they were once found in Kanto as well as much of lowland Johto.
Habitat: Ursaring can live in almost any kind of woodland, from alpine conifer forests to semitropical jungles. They require a great deal of acreage for their territories, sometimes over one hundred acres for one individual! In winter, they will take shelter in abandoned Onix tunnels.
Call: Teddiursa's high-pitched whine is well known in popular culture, with such sayings as "stop tedding" and "you're making a Teddiursa of yourself." And indeed, young Teddiursa will whine at their parents for food almost nonstop, a habit that captive Teddiursa often carry into adolescence and even adulthood.
Ursaring let out a throaty roar as a warning when aggravated. Don't ignore it, for it means an attack is imminent.
Diet: Ursaring are omnivores, just as happy to munch honey, fruit, and nuts as to raid Sentret burrows, fish for Magikarp, and even hunt down Donphan! They cache food underground for the winter, and have an excellent sense of smell, which they use to find their buried larders.
Life Cycle: Ursaring are almost entirely solitary, and only mothers with young travel together. However, during the fall mating season, males are drawn to females by their scent, and a mated pair may remain together for a few days before parting.
Female Ursaring dig a den, and lay two eggs within, which they incubate over the winter, living off of food stored nearby. After the cubs hatch they remain within the den for a month, nursing from their mother, after which time they may accompany her as she forages. They stay with their mother for two years, learning about the various sources of food in the forest, then leave.
Ursaring can live 30 years
Relationship with Humans: Ursaring have a very rocky relationship with humans. Due to their omnivorous tendencies and flexibility, they adapt well to a garbage-eating, crop-scavenging, pet-killing lifestyle. As a result, they are considered pests in most places, and in the past were exterminated accordingly. Nowadays, capturing Ursaring and selling them at auction for the battle trade is more common. The Blackthorn Mountains are their main stronghold, and there are cursory protections for them in place.
Naturalist's Notes: Teddiursa are well known for sucking their paws, although this is almost entirely a result of captivity. Teddiursa are often sold very young, before they would naturally wean, and they turn to paw-sucking as a replacement for nursing.