Brown Bear
Ursus arctos
Brown bears, sometimes called grizzlies, are among the biggest animals on earth. They grow particularly large in Kamchatka, in Russia’s far east, and on the coast of Alaska. They may grow to be 1,300 pounds and 10 feet tall.
What They Eat
Bears are omnivores, eating whatever they find in season. The vast bulk of their diet is plant material, but they also will eat fish, insects, and mammals. Salmon are a favorite food for bears on the coasts.
Where They Live
Very adaptable, brown bears range over large areas throughout northern Asia, Europe, and North America. With low human populations and a large supply of food, Russia’s Kamchatka has more brown bears per square mile than anywhere else.
What They Do
Especially in the far north, grizzlies put on up to 400 pounds of fat each summer. They use the extra weight to survive the winter asleep in their dens without food.
How They’re Doing
Brown bears used to roam across much of the northern hemisphere. Their range has decreased worldwide but the populations of the Russian Far East are among the strongest (about 30,000, with one-third of those in Kamchatka). Even here, poaching of bears and the salmon they eat threatens their future.
Where in the World
North America
Asia
Europe
Habitat
Prairie/Steppe
Temperate Forest/Taiga
Tundra
Conservation Status
Animal Facts
Height: up to 10 ft
Weight: up to 1,300 lbs
Lifespan: generally 15-20 years, up to 30 in captivity
Taxonomic Category
Mammal, Carnivore
Where at the Zoo
- A large female brown bear can weigh 770 pounds and a large male can weigh 1,300 pounds before winter.
- Thank salmon for the giant bears of Kamchatka. The fat salmon carry helps bears gain up to 400 extra pounds that they need to survive winter.
- More Americans die each year from bee stings (50 to 100) than from bears (about one every other year). When bears do attack people, it’s usually out of defense and territoriality.
- Brown bears have been successful around the world for hundreds of thousands of years. Respected, revered, and feared by humans, they figure large in the stories and beliefs of cultures worldwide.
- The brown bears of Kamchatka belong to the same species as those found in the United States. Brown bears originated 1.25 million years ago and migrated to North America across the Bering land bridge during the Pleistocene Ice Age.
- Brown bears and polar bears are tied as the world's largest land-dwelling meat eaters. In America, we commonly call them grizzlies. In Russia, they're all called burii medved.
