Ursaring are tall, bear-like Pokémon that stand at about 5'11". Ursaring have brown fur covering their bodies, except for their black-nosed muzzles, ear insides, the paw pads on their feet and a ring on their trunk which are all a light tan. The fur on Ursaring’s shoulders is shaggier compared to the rest of the fur on Ursaring’s body, to the extent that they resemble epaulettes. They usually stand on their short, three-clawed back feet and seem to be mostly bipedal, using their long, clawed forelegs to climb trees or collect food. As in their pre-evolution, they have small, ball-like tails.
Gender differences
The fur around a female Ursaring's shoulders is longer than that of a male.
Special abilities
Despite their large bulk, Ursaring are quite happy to climb trees in search of food or refuge. Ursaring also have an incredible sense of smell, being able to distinguish any scent.
Behavior
Ursaring are known for their food-collecting habits; they often walk through forests in the mornings to collect Berries. They also have an excellent sense of smell and use it to find and dig up food buried deep underground. They have been observed scratching trees, leaving marks which show that they bear good fruit. Despite their large size, they are able to find food and sleep in the treetops, although they still prefer to snap trees with their forelegs and eat the fallen Berries.
Like real-life bears, Ursaring can be quite aggressive when angered or especially when protecting their Teddiursa offspring. However, they seldom attack unprovoked.
Like its pre-evolution, it's likely that Ursaring have a preference for honey over other food. In the wild, they usually forage for Berries, roots and other plant material. They appear to be herbivores, but considering their muscular body structure and sharp claws, they may eat meat like real bears and be omnivores. However, there has been no documented evidence backing this claim.
Ursaring has made appearances in numerous episodes, such as its debut in Forest Grumps, where it scared or chased Ash and his friends or Team Rocket out of its territory.
The Teddiursa in UnBEARable was using its adorable looks to trick Trainers into giving it food. At the end of the episode, it evolved into Ursaring and lost its cute looks. But it realized that people were simply afraid of it, so it continued to steal Trainers' food.
An Ursaring and Teddiursa also had a cameo in Celebi: Voice of the Forest, as two of the Pokémon living in Celebi's forest. Also, multiple Ursaring lived in the same forest.
Ursaring, the Hibernator Pokémon. Ursaring searches for honey in a forest daily. To reach its food, it often snaps trees with its four legs rather than climbing.
Silver catches an Ursaring in Ursaring Major with Gold's aid, using it extensively to thwart the plans of Team Rocket. He added it to his main team and continued to rely on it for combat for many volumes on end, until he eventually entrusted his father Giovanni to it in order to nurse him back to health, safe from harm. It has not been seen since.
In the forests inhabited by Ursaring, it is said that there are many streams and towering trees where they gather food. This Pokémon walks through its forest gathering food every day.
In forests, it is said that there are many streams and towering trees where an Ursaring gathers food. It walks through its forest collecting food every day.
Ursaring and Donphan, along with their pre-evolutions, are the only Pokémon to swap version-exclusive status between localizations. While Teddiursa and Ursaring are found only in the Japanese Silver, they are not found in Silver in other languages, being found in the Gold Version of those languages instead, with Phanpy and Donphan getting the opposite treatment. This is corrected in the remakes HeartGold and SoulSilver, where they follow the Japanese Gold and Silver.
Ursaring's number of claws has changed over time and between canons. In its original artwork, Ursaring has four visible claws; however, in its HeartGold and SoulSilver artwork, it has five claws. In the Generation II games, it has three claws. From Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire up to and including Pokémon Platinum, it has four claws. From HeartGold and SoulSilver onwards, Ursaring has had five claws in its game sprites. In the anime, it has always had five claws.
Origin
Ursaring is based on an Asian black bear with a few traits of a grizzly bear. Much as Teddiursa has a crescent moon on its head, Ursaring's ring may either signify the full moon or new moon. It may also be based on the constellation Ursa Major's mythology.
Name origin
Ursaring's name is a combination of ursa (Latin for bear) and ring (referring to the circle on its stomach).
Ringuma is a combination of ring or rin (an alternate reading for 林 [woods]) and 熊 kuma (bear).
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.