Bear pit
Encyclopedia
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
s, typically for entertainment and especially bear-baiting
Bear-baiting
Bear-baiting is a blood sport involving the worrying or tormenting of bears.-Bear-baiting in England:Bear-baiting was popular in England until the nineteenth century. From the sixteenth century, many herds of bears were maintained for baiting...
. The pit area was normally surrounded by a high fence, above which the spectators would look down on the bears.
The most traditional form of maintaining bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
s in captivity
Captivity (animal)
Animals that live under human care are in captivity. Captivity can be used as a generalizing term to describe the keeping of either domesticated animals or wild animals. This may include for example farms, private homes and zoos...
is keeping them in pits, although many zoos replaced these by more elaborate and spacious enclosures that attempt to replicate their natural habitat
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
s, for the benefit of the animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s and the visitors.
Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
has a bear pit, known as the Bärenzwinger, which was established in 1939 in Köllnischer Park behind the Märkisches Museum.
Another bear pit in Bern, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, known as the Bärengraben
Bärengraben
The Bärengraben, or Bear Pit, is a well-known tourist attraction, an enclosure housing bears at the eastern edge of the Old City of Bern, next to the Nydeggbrücke and the Aare River. The bear is a symbol of Bern, both the city and canton, and is featured in Bern's coat of arms.The first records of...
, was built in 1857, but the bears have been moved in a nearby open park next to the Aare river called the BärenPark (bear park) since October 2009.
Other meanings
Another meaning is for an unusually aggressive political arena, in which direct, heated attacks are common.A bear pit also refers to a type of trap used to deter or trap bears. It usually consists of a large earthen pit with sharpened pikes in the bottom to impale the bear. They are most often used to deter bears from approaching a cabin, rather than as a means of actually catching them.
The term "bear pit" is also used to describe a tournament
Tournament
A tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...
or sparring format sometimes also referred to as "king of the hill
King of the Hill (game)
King of the Hill , is a children's game, the object of which is to stay on top of a large hill or pile as the "King of the Hill"...
". The participants form a queue behind the first two to compete. Once each match is over, the winner remains to face the next opponent in line while the loser goes to the end of the queue. For tournaments, it is usual that the process is continued for a set period of time during which the victor of each match is noted. At the end of the tournament the winner is determined to be the contestant that won the most matches. Multiple bear pits may also be employed, with defeated contestants able to choose which queue to re-enter.