Brown bear

Brown bear Temporal range: 0.5–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Middle Pleistocene-Holocene
Kodiak bear on Kodiak Island
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2][note 1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Ursidae
Genus:	Ursus
Species:	U. arctos
Binomial name
Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758
Subspecies
15, see text and article
Brown bear range map

The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. It is one of the largest land carnivorans, rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on average. The brown bear is a sexually dimorphic species, as adult males average around 30% larger in most populations. Brown bears are often not fully brown; the pelage can be reddish to yellowish-brown, and dark brown to cream in color. They are the only extant bears with a hump formed entirely of muscle on their shoulders. The paws are large and allow the bear to effectively dig through dirt. Its teeth are similar to those of other bears and reflect its dietary plasticity.

Throughout the brown bear's range, it inhabits mainly forested habitats in elevations of up to 5,000 m (16,000 ft). It is omnivorous, and consumes a variety of plant and animal species. Contrary to popular belief, the brown bear derives 90% of its diet from plants. When hunting, it will target animals as small as rodents, to those as large as moose or muskoxen. In parts of coastal Alaska, brown bears predominately feed on spawning salmon that come ashore to lay their eggs. For most of the year, it is a solitary animal that only associates when mating or raising cubs. Females give birth to an average of one to three cubs that remain with their mother for 1.5 to 4.5 years. They are long lived animals, with an average lifespan of 25 years in the wild. Relative to its body size, the brown bear has an exceptionally large brain for a land carnivore. This large brain allows for high cognitive abilities, such as tool use. Attacks on humans, though widely reported, are generally rare.

While the brown bear's range has shrunk, and it has faced local extinctions across its wide range, it remains listed as a least concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with a total estimated population in 2017 of 110,000. Populations that were hunted to extinction in the 19th and 20th centuries are the Atlas bear of North Africa and the Californian, Ungavan and Mexican populations of the grizzly bear of North America. Many of the populations in the southern parts of Eurasia are highly endangered as well. One of the smaller-bodied forms, the Himalayan brown bear, is critically endangered, occupying only 2% of its former range and threatened by uncontrolled poaching for its body parts. The Marsican brown bear of central Italy is one of several currently isolated populations of the Eurasian brown bear and is believed to have a population of just c. 50 bears.

The brown bear is considered a charismatic megafauna, and have been kept in zoos since ancient times. They have been tamed and trained to perform in circuses and other acts. For thousands of years, brown bears have found a predominant role in human culture, and are often featured in literature, art, folklore and mythology.

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