Greetings from the other side of 2016! We here in the IMPORTANT BEAR NEWS cave hope this, the first email of the new year, finds you well. In tallying up the things done and things left undone in 2015, we couldn't help but notice that we published a full ~12~ issues of this newsletter within the narrow confines of a full calendar year. Coincidence? Yes! It was. Most of those issues appeared near the end of the year. But the number of issues corresponding with the number of months made the IMPORTANT BEAR NEWS editorial team strongly consider limiting the number of issues to once a month. Then, we tallied up all the news that's fit to bear this issue and realized that that monthly publication schedule just would not do. The BEARS are active, always and forever, and their needs and dreams DESERVE to be publicly acknowledged in a dedicated BEAR NEWS newsletter. TL;DR, it's 2016 -- expect IMPORTANT BEAR NEWS  in your inbox more or less the same amount of times as it appeared near the end of last year. Not weekly, per se, but more frequent than not. Tell your friends, forward the bear news, follow us on Twitter, etc. etc. And thus -- TO THE BEARS!

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Literal Bear Hugs Literal Man, L I T E R A L L Y
Russian Bear Terrorist Terrorizes Bears 
Capital City Bear News, Volume 1
Capital City Bear News, Volume 2
Bear Curious About You, You Seem So Loose
Ice Bear No Match For Floral Delights
The Bear You Never Knew You Needed To See 
BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR BEARS?, GOVERNOR? 
Award-Winning Actor Actually Not Violated By Bear
...Or Was He?
But Seriously, Why Is New Jersey Surprised About This?
'Report Of A Bear At Orange And North'
BREAKING NEWS: Bears Sleep

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Moon bear [Ursus thibetanus], member of the bear family (Ursidae) found in the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, and part of eastern Asia, including Japan. It has a glossy black (sometimes brownish) coat, with a whitish mark shaped like a crescent moon on the chest. Its long, coarse neck and shoulder hair forms a modified mane.

food: The moon bear is omnivorous, eating insects, fruit, nuts, beehives, small mammals, and birds, as well as carrion. It will occasionally attack domestic animals.

habitat: During the summer the moon bear lives mainly in forested hills and mountains at elevations up to 3,600 metres (11,800 feet). Becoming fat by fall, it spends the winter at elevations of 1,500 metres (5,000 feet) or less and may sleep for much of the time.
[Via Encyclopedia Britannica]  

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