The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a bear species found across Eurasia and North America.[1][2] In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears. It is one of the largest living terrestrial members of the order Carnivora, rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear (Ursus maritimus), which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on average.[3][4][5][6][7] The brown bear's range includes parts of Russia, Central Asia, China, Canada, the United States, Hokkaido, Scandinavia, the Balkans, the Picos de Europa and the Carpathian region, especially Romania, Bulgaria, Iran, Anatolia and the Caucasus.[1][8] The brown bear is recognized as a national and state animal in several European countries.[9]
While the brown bear's range has shrunk and it has faced local extinctions, it remains listed as a least concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with a total population of approximately 200,000. As of 2012, this and the American black bear are the only bear species not classified as threatened by the IUCN.[1][2][6] Populations that were hunted to extinction in the 19th and 20th centuries are the Atlas bear of North Africa and the Californian, Ungavan[10][11] 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.[1][12] 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.[13] 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 50 to 60 bears.[9][14]
Evolution and taxonomy
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The brown bear is sometimes referred to as the bruin, from Middle English. This name originated in the fable History of Reynard the Fox translated by William Caxton from Middle Dutch bruun or bruyn, meaning brown (the color).[15][better source needed] In the mid-19th century United States, the brown bear was termed "Old Ephraim" and sometimes as "Moccasin Joe".[16]
The scientific name of the brown bear, Ursus arctos, comes from the Latin ursus, meaning "bear",[17] and from ἄρκτος arktos, the Greek word for bear.[18]
Generalized names and evolution
Brown bears are thought to have evolved from Ursus etruscus in Asia.[19][20] The brown bear, per Kurten (1976), has been stated as "clearly derived from the Asian population of Ursus savini about 800,000 years ago; spread into Europe, to the New World."[21] A genetic analysis indicated that the brown bear lineage diverged from the cave bear species complex approximately 1.2–1.4 million years ago, but did not clarify if U. savini persisted as a paraspecies for the brown bear before perishing.[22] The oldest fossils positively identified as from this species occur in China from about 0.5 million years ago. Brown bears entered Europe about 250,000 years ago and North Africa shortly after.[19][23] Brown bear remains from the Pleistocene period are common in the British Isles, where it is thought they might have outcompeted cave bears (Ursus spelaeus). The species entered Alaska 100,000 years ago, though they did not move south until 13,000 years ago.[19] It is speculated that brown bears were unable to migrate south until the extinction of the much larger giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus).[24][25]
Several paleontologists suggest the possibility of two separate brown bear migrations: inland brown bears, also known as grizzlies,
are thought to stem from narrow-skulled bears which migrated from
northern Siberia to central Alaska and the rest of the continent, while
Kodiak bears descend from broad-skulled bears from Kamchatka, which colonized the Alaskan peninsula. Brown bear fossils discovered in Ontario, Ohio, Kentucky and Labrador show that the species occurred farther east than indicated in historic records.[19] In North America, two types of the subspecies Ursus arctos horribilis
are generally recognized—the coastal brown bear and the inland grizzly
bear; these two types broadly define the range of sizes of all brown
bear subspecies.[12]
Scientific taxonomy
There are many methods used by scientists to define bear species and subspecies,
as no one method is always effective. Brown bear taxonomy and
subspecies classification has been described as "formidable and
confusing," with few authorities listing the same specific set of
subspecies.[26]
Genetic testing is now perhaps the most important way to scientifically
define brown bear relationships and names. Generally, genetic testing
uses the word clade rather than species because a genetic test alone cannot define a biological species. Most genetic studies report on how closely related the bears are (or their genetic distance).
There are hundreds of obsolete brown bear subspecies, each with its own
name, and this can become confusing; Hall (1981) lists 86 different
types, and even as many as 90 have been proposed.[27][28] However, recent DNA analysis has identified as few as five main clades which contain all extant brown bears,[29][30] while a 2017 phylogenetic study revealed nine clades, including one representing polar bears.[31] As of 2005, 15 extant or recently extinct subspecies were recognized by the general scientific community.[32][33]
As well as the exact number of overall brown bear subspecies, its precise relationship to the polar bear
also remains in debate. The polar bear is a recent offshoot of the
brown bear. The point at which the polar bear diverged from the brown
bear is unclear, with estimations based on genetics and fossils ranging
from 400,000 to 70,000 years ago, but most recent analysis has indicated
that the polar bear split somewhere between 275,000 and 150,000 years
ago.[34] Under some definitions, the brown bear can be construed as the paraspecies for the polar bear.[35][36][37][38]
DNA analysis shows that, apart from recent human-caused population fragmentation,[39]
brown bears in North America are generally part of a single
interconnected population system, with the exception of the population
(or subspecies) in the Kodiak Archipelago, which has probably been isolated since the end of the last Ice Age.[40][41] These data demonstrate that U. a. gyas, U. a. horribilis, U. a. sitkensis and U. a. stikeenensis
are not distinct or cohesive groups, and would more accurately be
described as ecotypes. For example, brown bears in any particular region
of the Alaska coast are more closely related to adjacent grizzly bears
than to distant populations of brown bears,[42]
the morphological distinction seemingly driven by brown bears having
access to a rich salmon food source, while grizzly bears live at higher
elevation, or further from the coast, where plant material is the base
of the diet. The history of the bears of the Alexander Archipelago
is unusual in that these island populations carry polar bear DNA,
presumably originating from a population of polar bears that was left
behind at the end of the Pleistocene, but have since been connected with
adjacent mainland populations through movement of males, to the point
where their nuclear genomes are now more than 90% of brown bear
ancestry.[43]
Brown bears are apparently divided into five different clades, some of which coexist or co-occur in different regions.[2]
Hybrids
A grizzly–polar bear hybrid (known either as a pizzly bear or a grolar bear) is a rare ursid hybrid resulting from a crossbreeding of a brown bear and a polar bear.
It has occurred both in captivity and in the wild. In 2006, the
occurrence of this hybrid in nature was confirmed by testing the DNA of a strange-looking bear that had been shot in the Canadian Arctic, and seven more hybrids have since been confirmed in the same region, all descended from a single female polar bear.[44] Previously, the hybrid had been produced in zoos and was considered a "cryptid" (a hypothesized animal for which there is no scientific proof of existence in the wild).
Analyses of the genomes of bears have shown that introgression between species was widespread during the evolution of the genus Ursus,[45][46][47] including the introgression of polar bear DNA introduced to brown bears during the Pleistocene.
A bear shot in autumn 1986 in Michigan, US, was thought by some to be a grizzly/American black bear
hybrid, due to its unusually large size and its proportionately larger
braincase and skull. DNA testing was unable to determine whether it was a
large American black bear or a grizzly bear.[48]
Description
Brown bears are highly variable in size. Eurasian brown bears often fall around the middle to low sizes for the species.
The brown bear is the most variable in size of modern bears. The
typical size depends upon which population it is from, and most accepted
subtypes vary widely in size. This is in part due to sexual dimorphism,
as male brown bears average at least 30% larger in most subtypes.
Individual bears also vary in size seasonally, weighing the least in
spring due to lack of foraging during hibernation, and the most in late
fall, after a period of hyperphagia to put on additional weight to
prepare for hibernation. Therefore, a bear may need to be weighed in
both spring and fall to get an idea of its mean annual weight.[49][50]
The normal range of physical dimensions for a brown bear is a
head-and-body length of 1.4 to 2.8 m (4 ft 7 in to 9 ft 2 in) and a
shoulder height of 70 to 153 cm (2 ft 4 in to 5 ft 0 in). The tail is
relatively short, as in all bears, ranging from 6 to 22 cm (2.4 to
8.7 in) in length.[51][52]
The smallest brown bears, females during spring among barren-ground
populations, can weigh so little as to roughly match the body mass of
males of the smallest living bear species, the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), while the largest coastal populations attain sizes broadly similar to those of the largest living bear species, the polar bear.[5][12][53] Interior brown bears are generally smaller than is often perceived, being around the same weight as an average lion,
at an estimate average of 180 kg (400 lb) in males and 135 kg (298 lb)
in females, whereas adults of the coastal populations weigh about twice
as much.[12][54]
The average weight of adult male bears from 19 populations, from around
the world and various subspecies (including both large- and
small-bodied subspecies), was found to be 217 kg (478 lb) while adult
females from 24 populations were found to average 152 kg (335 lb).[12][55][56][57]
Color
Brown bears are often not fully brown.[58] They have long, thick fur, with a moderately long mane at the back of the neck which varies somewhat across the types.[59]
In India, brown bears can be reddish with silver-tipped hairs, while in
China brown bears are bicolored, with a yellowish-brown or whitish
collar across the neck, chest and shoulders.[58][60]
Even within well-defined subspecies, individuals may show highly
variable hues of brown. North American grizzlies can be dark brown
(almost black) to cream (almost white) or yellowish-brown and often have
darker-colored legs. The common name "grizzly" stems from their typical
coloration, with the hairs on their back usually being brownish-black
at the base and whitish-cream at the tips, giving them their distinctive
"grizzled" color. Apart from the cinnamon subspecies of the American black bear (U. americanus cinnamonum), the brown bear is the only modern bear species to typically appear truly brown.[61]
The winter fur is very thick and long, especially in northern
subspecies, and can reach 11 to 12 centimetres (4 to 5 in) at the withers.
The winter hairs are thin, yet rough to the touch. The summer fur is
much shorter and sparser and its length and density varies
geographically.[62]
Cranial morphology and size
Adults have massive, heavily built concave skulls, which are large in proportion to the body. The forehead is high and rises steeply.[61] The projections of the skull are well developed when compared to those of Asian black bears (Ursus thibetanus): the latter have sagittal crests
not exceeding more than 19–20% of the total length of the skull, while
the former have sagittal crests comprising up to 40–41% of the skull's
length. Skull projections are more weakly developed in females than in
males. The braincase
is relatively small and elongated. There is a great deal of
geographical variation in the skull, and presents itself chiefly in
dimensions.[62] Grizzlies, for example, tend to have flatter profiles than European and coastal American brown bears.[63]
Skull lengths of Russian brown bears tend to be 31.5 to 45.5
centimetres (12.4 to 17.9 in) for males, and 27.5 to 39.7 centimetres
(10.8 to 15.6 in) for females. The width of the zygomatic arches in males is 17.5 to 27.7 centimetres (6.9 to 11 in), and 14.7 to 24.7 centimetres (5.8 to 9.7 in) in females.[62] Brown bears have very strong teeth: the incisors are relatively big and the canine teeth
are large, the lower ones being strongly curved. The first three molars
of the upper jaw are underdeveloped and single crowned with one root.
The second upper molar is smaller than the others, and is usually absent
in adults. It is usually lost at an early age, leaving no trace of the
alveolus in the jaw. The first three molars of the lower jaw are very
weak, and are often lost at an early age.[62]
The teeth of brown bears reflect their dietary plasticity and are
broadly similar to other bears, excluding the two most herbivorous
living bears, the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus),
which have blunt, small premolars (ideal for grinding down fibrous
plants) compared to the jagged premolars of ursid bears that at least
seasonally often rely on flesh as a food source.[64][65] The teeth are reliably larger than American black bears, but average smaller in molar length than polar bears.[66][67]
Brown bears have the broadest skull of any extant ursine bear; only the
aforementioned most herbivorous living bears exceed them in relative
breadth of the skull.[12][55][68] Another extant ursine bear, the sloth bear (Melursus ursinus),
has a proportionately longer skull than the brown bear and can match
the skull length of even large brown bear subtypes, presumably as an aid
for foraging heavily on insect colonies for which a long muzzle is
helpful as an evolved feature in several unrelated mammalian groups.[61][68]
Claws and feet
Brown bears have very large and curved claws, those present on the
forelimbs being longer than those on the hind limbs. They may reach 5 to
6 centimetres (2.0 to 2.4 in) and may measure 7 to 10 centimetres (2.8
to 3.9 in) along the curve.[69] They are generally dark with a light tip, with some forms having completely light claws.[62] Brown bear claws are longer and straighter than those of American black bears (Ursus americanus).[61]
The claws are blunt, while those of a black bear are sharp. Due to
their claw structure, in addition to their excessive weight, adult brown
bears cannot typically climb trees as well as both species of black
bear, although in rare cases adult female brown bears have been seen in
trees.[70]
The claws of a polar bear are also quite different, being notably
shorter but broader with a strong curve and sharper point, presumably
both as an aid to traveling over ice (sometimes nearly vertically) and
procuring active prey.[23][71]
The paws of the brown bear are quite large. The rear feet of adult
bears have been found to typically measure 21 to 36 cm (8.3 to 14.2 in)
long, while the forefeet tend to measure about 40% less in length. All
four feet in average sized brown bears tend to be about 17.5 to 20 cm
(6.9 to 7.9 in) in width. In large coastal or Kodiak bear males, the
hindfoot may measure up to 40 cm (16 in) in length, 28.5 cm (11.2 in) in
width, while outsized Kodiak bears having had confirmed measurements of
up to 46 cm (18 in) along their rear foot.[72][73][74]
Brown bears are the only extant bears with a hump at the top of their
shoulder, which is made entirely of muscle, this feature having
developed presumably for imparting more force in digging, which is
habitual during foraging for most bears of the species and also used
heavily in den construction prior to hibernation.[61][75]
Distribution and habitat
Brown bear at Brooks Falls
Brown bears were once native to Europe, much of Asia, the Atlas Mountains of Africa, and North America,[76] but are now extinct
in some areas, and their populations have greatly decreased in other
areas. There are approximately 200,000 brown bears left in the world.[77] The largest populations are in Russia with 120,000,[78] the United States with 32,500, and Canada
with around 25,000. About 95% of the brown bear population in the
United States is in Alaska, though in the lower 48 states, they are
repopulating slowly but steadily along the Rockies and the western Great Plains. Although many people hold the belief some brown bears may be present in Mexico and the Atlas Mountains of Morocco,
both are almost certainly extinct. The last known Mexican grizzly bear
was shot in 1960, while the Atlas bear has been extinct since Roman
times. In Europe, there are 14,000 brown bears in ten fragmented populations, from Spain (estimated at only 20–25 animals in the Pyrenees in 2010,[79][80] in a range shared between Spain, France and Andorra, and some 210 animals in Asturias, Cantabria, Galicia and León, in the Picos de Europa and adjacent areas in 2013 [81]) in the west, to Russia in the east, and from Sweden and Finland in the north to Romania (4000–5000), Bulgaria (900–1200), Slovakia (with about 600–800 animals), Slovenia (500–700 animals) and Greece (with about 200 animals) in the south. They are extinct in the British Isles, extremely threatened in France, and in trouble in Spain and most of Central Europe. The Carpathian brown bear population of Romania is the largest in Europe outside Russia, estimated at 4,500 to 5,000 bears, although declining alarmingly due to overhunting.[82] There is also a smaller brown bear population in the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine (estimated at about 200 in 2005), Slovakia and Poland (estimated at about 100 in 2009 in the latter country).[83] The total Carpathian population is estimated at about 8,000.[84] Northern Europe is home to a large bear population, with an estimated 2,500 (range 2,350–2,900) in Sweden, about 1,600 in Finland,[85] about 700 in Estonia and 70 in Norway.
Another large and relatively stable population of brown bears in
Europe, consisting of 2,500–3,000 individuals, is the Dinaric-Pindos
(Balkans) population, with contiguous distribution in northeast Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria and Greece.[86]
Brown bears live in Alaska, east through the Yukon and Northwest Territories, south through British Columbia and through the western half of Alberta. The Alaskan population is estimated at a healthy 32,000 individuals.[87] Small populations exist in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem of northwest Wyoming (with about 600 animals), the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem of northwest Montana (with about 750 animals), the Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem of northwest Montana and northeast Idaho (with about 30–40 animals), the Selkirk Ecosystem of northeast Washington
and northwest Idaho (with about 40–50 animals), and the North Cascades
Ecosystem of northcentral Washington (with about 5–10 animals). These
five ecosystems combine for a total of roughly 1,470 wild grizzlies
still persisting in the contiguous United States. Unfortunately, these
populations are isolated from each other, inhibiting any genetic flow
between ecosystems. This poses one of the greatest threats to the future
survival of the grizzly bear in the contiguous United States.
In Asia, brown bears are found primarily throughout Russia, thence more spottily southwest to parts of the Middle East, to as far south as southwestern Iran, and to the southeast in a small area of Northeast China, Western China, and parts of North Korea, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. They can also be found on the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, which holds the largest number of non-Russian brown bears in eastern Asia with about 2,000–3,000 animals.[72]
The population of brown bears in the Pyrenees mountain range between Spain and France
is extremely low, estimated at 14 to 18, with a shortage of females.
Their rarity in this area has led biologists to release bears, mostly
female, from Slovenia
in spring 2006 to reduce the imbalance and preserve the species'
presence in the area. The bears were released despite protests from
French farmers. A small population of brown bears (Ursus arctos marsicanus) still lives in central Italy (the Apennine Mountains, Abruzzo and Latium), with no more than 50-60 individuals, protected by strong laws, but endangered by the human presence in the area.[citation needed] In 2020, a film crew working in Natural Park O Invernadeiro in Ourense, Galicia recorded the first brown bear siting in Portugal in 150 years.[88]
In Arctic areas, the potential habitat of the brown bear is increasing. The warming of that region has allowed the species to move farther north into what was once exclusively the domain of the polar bear. In non-Arctic areas, habitat loss is blamed as the leading cause of endangerment, followed by hunting.
This species inhabits the broadest range of habitats of any living bear species.[72]
They seem to have no altitudinal preferences and have been recorded from
sea level to an elevation of 5,000 m (16,000 ft) (the latter in the Himalayas).[72]
In most of their range, brown bears generally seem to prefer semiopen
country, with a scattering of vegetation that can allow them a resting
spot during the day. However, they have been recorded as inhabiting
every variety of northern temperate forest known to occur.[72] North American brown bears, or grizzly bears, generally seem to prefer open or semi-open landscapes, with the species once having been common on the Great Plains and continues to occur in sizeable numbers in tundra and coastal estuaries and islands. Variable numbers still occur in prairie areas of the northern Rocky Mountains (mostly in Canada but some in the contiguous United States).[72] In western Eurasia, they inhabit mostly mountainous woodlands, in ranges such as the Alps, the Pyrenees and the Caucasus,
though they may have been driven into more wooded, precipitous habitats
due to the prior extensive persecution of the species in some regions.[89][90][89] Desolate parts of northern and eastern Europe, like large patches of Scandinavia and the Carpathian Mountains,
have always been quite heavily forested and have maintained relatively
stable populations of bears, indicating that the brown bears here are
well-adapted to forest-dwelling.[72] In Central Asia,
human disturbances are minimal as this area has a harsher environment
and is more sparsely populated. In this part of the world, bears may be
found in steppe, alpine meadows and even desert edge. In Siberia, the species seems well-adapted to living in denser pine forests.
Eastern Russian forests hold arguably the largest number of brown bears
in the world outside of possibly Alaska and northeastern Canada.[72] It is thought the Eurasian bears which colonized America were tundra-adapted and the species is sometimes found around sub-Arctic ice fields. This is indicated by brown bears in the Chukotka Peninsula
on the Asian side of Bering Strait, which are the only Asian brown
bears to live year-round in lowland tundra like their North American
cousins.[91]
Conservation status
While the brown bear's range has shrunk and it has faced local extinctions, it remains listed as a Least concern species by the IUCN, with a total population of approximately 200,000. As of 2012, this and the American black bear are the only bear species not classified as threatened by the IUCN.[1][2] However, the California grizzly bear, Atlas bear and Mexican grizzly bear, as well as brown bear populations in the Pacific Northwest,
were hunted to extinction in the 19th and early 20th centuries and many
of the southern Asian subspecies are highly endangered.[92] The Syrian brown bear (Ursus arctos syriacus) is very rare and it has been extirpated from more than half of its historic range.[93] One of the smallest-bodied subspecies, the Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus), is critically endangered, occupying only 2% of its former range and threatened by uncontrolled poaching for its body parts.[13] The Marsican brown bear in central Italy is believed to have a population of just 50-60 bears.
Behavior and life history
Like
all bears, brown bears can stand on their hindlegs and walk for a few
steps in this position, usually motivated to do so by curiosity, hunger
or alarm
|
Brown bear sounds including huffing, jaw popping and growling
Brown bears roaring over a carcass |
Problems playing these files? See media help. |
The brown bear is often described as nocturnal. However, it frequently seems to peak in activity in the morning and early evening hours.[94]
Studies have shown that activity throughout the range can occur at
nearly any time of night or day, with bears who dwell in areas with more
extensive human contact being more likely to be fully nocturnal.
Furthermore, yearling and newly independent bears are more likely to be
active diurnally and many adult bears in low-disturbance areas are
largely crepuscular.[95][96][97] In summer through autumn, a brown bear can double its weight from the spring, gaining up to 180 kg (400 lb) of fat, on which it relies to make it through winter, when it becomes very lethargic.[98][99] Although they are not full hibernators and can be woken easily, both sexes like to den
in a protected spot during the winter months. Hibernation dens may
consist of any spot that provides cover from the elements and that can
accommodate their bodies, such as a cave, crevice, cavernous tree roots, or hollow logs.[100][101]
Brown bears have one of the largest brains of any extant
carnivoran relative to their body size and have been shown to engage in
tool use (e.g., using a barnacle-covered rock to scratch its neck),
which requires advanced cognitive abilities.[102]
This species is mostly solitary, although bears may gather in large
numbers at major food sources (e.g., open garbage dumps or rivers
holding spawning salmon) and form social hierarchies based on age and size.[103][104]
Adult male bears are particularly aggressive and are avoided by
adolescent and subadult males, both at concentrated feeding
opportunities and chance encounters. Female bears with cubs rival adult
males in aggression and are much more intolerant of other bears than
single females. Young adolescent males tend to be least aggressive and
have been observed in nonantagonistic interactions with each other.[105][106] Dominance
between bears is asserted by making a frontal orientation, showing off
canines, muzzle twisting and neck stretching to which a subordinate will
respond with a lateral orientation, by turning away and dropping the
head and by sitting or lying down.[107] During combat, bears use their paws to strike their opponents in the chest or shoulders and bite the head or neck. In his Great Bear Almanac,
Gary Brown lists 11 different sounds bears produce in nine different
contexts. Sounds expressing anger or aggravation include growls, roars,
woofs, champs and smacks, while sounds expressing nervousness or pain
include woofs, grunts and bawls. Sows will bleat or hum when
communicating with their cubs.[61]
Home ranges
Brown
bears usually occur over vast home ranges; however, they are not highly
territorial. Several adult bears often roam freely over the same
vicinity without issue, unless rights to a fertile female or food
sources are being contested.[12][106]
Males always cover more area than females each year. Despite their lack
of traditional territorial behavior, adult males can seem to have a
"personal zone" in which other bears are not tolerated if they are seen.[108]
Males always wander further than females, due to both increasing access
to females and food sources, while females are advantaged by smaller
territories in part since it decreases the likelihood of encounters with
male bears who may endanger their cubs.[12][75][55][109] In areas where food is abundant and concentrated, such as coastal Alaska, home ranges for females are up to 24 km2 (9.3 sq mi) and for males are up to 89 km2 (34 sq mi). Similarly, in British Columbia, bears of the two sexes travel relatively compact home ranges of 115 km2 (44 sq mi) and 318 km2 (123 sq mi). In Yellowstone National Park, home ranges for females are up to 281 km2 (108 sq mi) and up to 874 km2 (337 sq mi) for males. In Romania, the largest home range was recorded for adult males (3,143 km2, 1214 sq mi).[110] In the central Arctic of Canada, where food sources are quite sparse, home ranges range up to 2,434 km2 (940 sq mi) in females and 8,171 km2 (3,155 sq mi) in males.[12][72][75][106]
A study of male-inherited Y chromosome DNA sequence found that brown bears, over the past few 10,000 years, have shown strong male-biased dispersal.[111]
That study found surprisingly similar Y chromosomes in brown bear
populations as far apart as Norway and coastal Alaska, indicating
extensive gene flow across Eurasia and North America. Notably, this contrasts with genetic signals from female-inherited mitochondrial DNA
(mtDNA), where brown bears of different geographic regions typically
show strong differences in their mtDNA, a result of female philopatry.
Reproduction
The mating season is from mid-May to early July, shifting later the further north the bears are found.[72][55][112] Being serially monogamous, brown bears remain with the same mate from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.[12][113] Outside of this narrow time frame, adult male and female brown bears show no sexual interest in each other.[12]
Females mature sexually between the age of four and eight years of age,
with an average age at sexual maturity of 5.2–5.5 years old, while
males first mate about a year later on average, when they are large and
strong enough to successfully compete with other males for mating
rights.[114][108][115]
Males will try to mate with as many females as they can; usually a
successful one mates with two females in a span of one to three weeks.[52][115]
The adult female brown bear is similarly promiscuous, mating with up to
four, rarely even eight, males while in heat and potentially breeding
with two males in a single day. Females come into oestrus on average
every three to four years, with a full range of 2.4 to 5.7 years. The
urine markings of a female in oestrus can attract several males via
scent.[75][55][116][117][118][119][109][120] Paternity DNA tests have shown that up to 29% of cubs in a litter will be from two to three different males.[109]
Dominant males may try to sequester a female for her entire oestrus
period of approximately two weeks, but usually are unable to retain her
for the entire time.[55][109] Copulation is vigorous and prolonged and can last up to an hour, although the mean time is about 23–24 minutes.[55][121]
Grizzly bear cubs often imitate their mothers closely
Males take no part in raising their cubs – parenting is left entirely to the females.[106][122] Through the process of delayed implantation,
a female's fertilized egg divides and floats freely in the uterus for
six months. During winter dormancy, the fetus attaches to the uterine
wall. The cubs are born eight weeks later while the mother sleeps. If
the mother does not gain enough weight to survive through the winter
while gestating, the embryo does not implant and is reabsorbed into the
body.[114][123][124]
There have been cases of brown bears with as many as six cubs, although
the average litter size is one to three, with more than four being
considered uncommon.[114][125][126]
There are records of females sometimes adopting stray cubs or even
trading or kidnapping cubs when they emerge from hibernation (a larger
female may claim cubs away from a smaller one).[72][127][128] Older and larger females within a population tend to give birth to larger litters[129] The size of a litter also depends on factors such as geographic location and food supply.[130]
At birth, the cubs are blind, toothless and hairless and may weigh from
350 to 510 g (0.77 to 1.12 lb), again reportedly based on the age and
condition of the mother.[131]
They feed on their mother's milk until spring or even early summer,
depending on climate conditions. At this time, the cubs weigh 7 to 9 kg
(15 to 20 lb) and have developed enough to follow her over long
distances and begin to forage for solid food.[132][133]
Kodiak bear cubs play-fighting
The cubs are fully dependent on the mother and a close bond is
formed. During the dependency stage, the cubs learn (rather than inherit
as instincts from birth) survival techniques, such as which foods have
the highest nutritional value and where to obtain them; how to hunt,
fish and defend themselves; and where to den.[75]
Increased brain size in large carnivores has been positively linked to
whether a given species is solitary, as is the brown bear, or raises
their offspring communally, thus female brown bears have relatively
large, well-developed brains, presumably key in teaching behavior.[134] The cubs learn by following and imitating their mother's actions during the period they are with her.[135] Cubs remain with their mother for an average of 2.5 years in North America, uncommonly being independent as early as 1.5 years of age or as late as 4.5 years of age.[55] The stage at which independence is attained may generally be earlier in some parts of Eurasia,
as the latest date which mother and cubs were together was 2.3 years,
most families separated in under two years in a study from Hokkaido and in Sweden most cubs on their own were still yearlings.[136][137] Brown bears practice infanticide, as an adult male bear may kill the cubs of a female bear.[109]
When an adult male brown bear kills a cub, it is usually because he is
trying to bring the female into oestrus, as she will enter that state
within two to four days after the death of her cubs.[109]
Cubs flee up a tree, if available, when they see a strange male bear
and the mother often successfully defends them, even though the male may
be twice as heavy as she, although females have been known to lose
their lives in these confrontations.[138][139][140]
Dietary habits
The brown bear is one of the most omnivorous animals in the world and has been recorded as consuming the greatest variety of foods of any bear.[72]
Throughout life, this species is regularly curious about the potential
of eating virtually any organism or object that they encounter. Food
that is both abundant and easily accessed or caught is preferred. Their
jaw structure has evolved to fit their dietary habits. Their diet varies
enormously throughout their differing areas based on opportunity.
Despite their reputation, most brown bears are not highly carnivorous, as they derive up to 90% of their dietary food energy from vegetable matter.[141] They often feed on a variety of plant life, including berries, grasses, flowers, acorns and pine cones, as well as fungi such as mushrooms.[12] Among all bears, brown bears are uniquely equipped to dig for tough foods such as roots and shoots. They use their long, strong claws to dig out earth to reach the roots and their powerful jaws to bite through them.[12]
In spring, winter-provided carrion, grasses, shoots, sedges and forbs
are the dietary mainstays for brown bears internationally.[72]
Fruits, including berries, become increasingly important during summer
and early autumn. Roots and bulbs become critical in autumn for some
inland bear populations if fruit crops are poor.[72] They will also commonly consume animal matter, which in summer and autumn may regularly be in the form of insects, larvae and grubs, including beehives. Bears in Yellowstone eat an enormous number of moths during the summer, sometimes as many as 40,000 army cutworm moths in a single day, and may derive up to half of their annual food energy from these insects.[142] Brown bears living near coastal regions will regularly eat crabs and clams. In Alaska, bears along the beaches of estuaries regularly dig through the sand for clams.[61] This species may eat birds and their eggs, including almost entirely ground- or rock-nesting species.[61] The diet may be supplemented by rodents or similar smallish mammals, including marmots, ground squirrels, mice, rats, lemmings and voles.[12] With particular regularity, bears in Denali National Park will wait at burrows of Arctic ground squirrels hoping to pick off a few of the 1 kg (2.2 lb) rodents.[143]
In the Kamchatka peninsula and several parts of coastal Alaska, brown bears feed mostly on spawning salmon,
whose nutrition and abundance explain the enormous size of the bears in
these areas. The fishing techniques of bears are well-documented. They
often congregate around falls when the salmon are forced to breach the
water, at which point the bears will try to catch the fish in mid-air
(often with their mouths). They will also wade into shallow waters,
hoping to pin a slippery salmon with their claws. While they may eat
almost all the parts of the fish, bears at the peak of spawning, when
there is usually a glut of fish to feed on, may eat only the most
nutrious parts of the salmon (including the eggs and head) and then
indifferently leave the rest of the carcass to scavengers, which can
include red foxes, bald eagles, common ravens and gulls.
Despite their normally solitary habits, brown bears will gather rather
closely in numbers at good spawning sites. The largest and most powerful
males claim the most fruitful fishing spots and bears (especially
males) will sometimes fight over the rights to a prime fishing spot.[61]
Beyond the regular predation of salmon, most brown bears are not particularly active predators.[61]
While perhaps a majority of bears of the species will charge at large
prey at one point in their lives and most eat carrion, many predation
attempts start with the bear clumsily and half-heartedly pursuing the
prey and end with the prey escaping alive.[61]
On the other hand, some brown bears are quite self-assured predators
who habitually pursue and catch large prey items. Such bears are usually
taught how to hunt by their mothers from an early age.[61] Large mammals preyed on can include various ungulate species such as elk, moose, caribou, muskoxen and wild boar.[12]
When brown bears attack these large animals, they usually target young
or infirm ones, as they are easier to catch. Typically when hunting
(especially with young prey), the bear pins its prey to the ground and
then immediately tears and eats it alive.[144] It will also bite or swipe some prey in order to stun it enough to knock it over for consumption.[90]
To pick out young or infirm individuals, bears will charge at herds so
the slower-moving and more vulnerable individuals will be made apparent.
Brown bears may also ambush young animals by finding them via scent.[12]
When emerging from hibernation, brown bears, whose broad paws allow
them to walk over most ice and snow, may pursue large prey such as moose
whose hooves cannot support them on encrusted snow.[90]
Similarly, predatory attacks on large prey sometimes occur at
riverbeds, when it is more difficult for the prey specimen to run away
due to muddy or slippery soil.[12]
On rare occasions, while confronting fully-grown, dangerous prey, bears
kill them by hitting with their powerful forearms, which can break the
necks and backs of large creatures such as adult moose and adult bison.[61] They also feed on carrion, and use their size to intimidate other predators, such as wolves, cougars, tigers, and American black bears
from their kills. Carrion is especially important in the early spring
(when the bears are emerging from hibernation), much of it comprised by
winter-killed big game.[12]
Cannibalism is not unheard of, though predation is not normally
believed to be the primary motivation when brown bears attack each
other.[61]
When forced to live in close proximity with humans and their
domesticated animals, bears may potentially predate any type of domestic
animal. Among these, domestic cattle
are sometimes exploited as prey. Cattle are bitten on the neck, back or
head and then the abdominal cavity is opened for eating.[12] Plants and fruit farmed by humans are readily consumed as well, including corn, wheat, sorghum, melons and any form of berries.[61] They will also feed at domestic bee farms, readily consuming both honey and the contents of the honey bee colony.[61]
Human foods and trash or refuse is eaten when possible. When an open
garbage dump was kept in Yellowstone, brown bears were one of the most
voracious and regular scavengers. The dump was closed after both brown
and American black bears came to associate humans with food and lost
their natural fear of them.[61]
Interspecific predatory relationships
Brown bear being followed by a
wolfAdult bears are generally immune to predatory attacks except from tigers and other bears. Siberian tigers
prefer preying on young bears but smaller fully grown adult female
brown bears outside their dens may also be taken, generally when
lethargic from hibernation.[145][146][147]
Of 44 recorded encounters between the two predators, 20 resulted in
confrontations; in 50% of these, the bears were killed, in 27% the
tigers were killed, and 23% of the cases ended with both animals
surviving and parting ways.[148] Some bears emerging from hibernation seek out tigers in order to steal their kills.[149]
Some large brown bears may actually benefit from the tiger's presence
by appropriating tiger kills that the bears may not be able to
successfully hunt themselves and follow tiger tracks.[150] Geptner et al. (1972) stated bears are generally afraid of tigers and change their path after coming across tiger trails.[151]
In the winters of 1970–1973, Yudakov and Nikolaev recorded 1 case of
brown bear showing no fear of the tigers and another case of brown bear
changing path upon crossing tiger tracks.[152] Other researchers have observed bears following tiger tracks for various reasons.[153]
Brown bears regularly intimidate wolves to drive them away from their kills. In Yellowstone National Park,
brown bears pirate wolf kills so often, Yellowstone's Wolf Project
director Doug Smith wrote, "It's not a matter of if the bears will come
calling after a kill, but when." Despite the high animosity between the
two species, most confrontations at kill sites or large carcasses end
without bloodshed on either side. Though conflict over carcasses is
common, on rare occasions the two predators tolerate each other on the
same kill. To date, there is a single case of fully-grown wolves being
killed by a grizzly bear.[154] Given the opportunity, however, both species will prey on the other's cubs.[155]
Conclusively, the individual power of the bear against the collective
strength of the wolf pack usually results in a long battle for kills or
domination.
In some areas, the brown bear also regularly displaces cougars from their kills.[156]
Cougars kill small bear cubs on rare occasions, but there was one
report of a bear killing a cougar of unknown age and condition between
1993 and 1996.[157][158] Smaller carnivorous animals, including coyotes, wolverines, lynxes and any other sympatric carnivores or raptorial birds, are dominated by Brown bears and generally avoid direct interactions with them, unless attempting to steal
scraps of food. However, wolverines have been persistent enough to fend
off a grizzly bear as much as ten times their weight off a kill.[61] There is one record of a golden eagle predating a Brown bear cub.[159]
Brown bears usually dominate other bear species in areas where they coexist. Due to their smaller size, American black bears
are at a competitive disadvantage to brown bears in open, unforested
areas. Although displacement of black bears by brown bears has been
documented, actual interspecific killing of black bears by brown bears
has only occasionally been reported. Confrontation is mostly avoided due
to the black bear's diurnal habits and preference for heavily forested
areas, as opposed to the brown bear's largely nocturnal habits and
preference for open spaces.[160] Brown bears may also kill Asian black bears,
though the latter species probably largely avoids conflicts with the
Brown bear due to similar habits and habitat preferences to the American
Black species.[161] They will eat the fruit dropped by the Asian black bear from trees, as they themselves are too large and cumbersome to climb.[162] Improbably, in the Himalayas Brown bears are reportedly intimidated by Asian black bears in confrontations.[163]
There has been a recent increase in interactions between brown bears and polar bears, theorized to be caused by climate change.
Brown bears have been seen moving increasingly northward into
territories formerly claimed by polar bears. Brown bears tend to
dominate polar bears in disputes over carcasses,[164] and dead polar bear cubs have been found in brown bear dens.[165]
Longevity and mortality
The
brown bear has a naturally long life. Wild females have been observed
reproducing up to 28 years of age, which is the oldest known age for
reproduction of any ursid in the wild. The peak reproductive age for females ranges from four to 20 years old.[72][166] The lifespan of brown bears of both sexes within minimally hunted populations is estimated at an average of 25 years.[167] The oldest wild brown bear on record was nearly 37 years old.[167]
The oldest recorded female in captivity was nearly 40 years old, while
males in captivity have been verified to live up to 47 years, with one
captive male possibly attaining 50 years of age.[12][52]
While male bears potentially live longer in captivity, female
grizzly bears have a greater annual survival rate than males within wild
populations per a study done in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.[168] Annual mortality for bears of any age is estimated at around 10% in most protected areas;[72] however, the average annual mortality rate rises to an estimated 38% in hunted populations.[72] Around 13% to 44% of cubs die within their first year even in well-protected areas.[12] Mortality rates of 75–100% among the cubs of any given year are not uncommon.[169] Beyond predation by large predators including wolves,
Siberian tigers and other brown bears, starvation and accidents also
claim the lives of cubs. Studies have indicated that the most prevalent
source of mortality for first-year cubs is malnutrition.[12][75][140][170]
By the second and third years of their lives, the annual mortality rate
among cubs in the care of their mothers drops to 10-15%.[75]
Even in populations living in protected areas, humans are still the leading cause of mortality for brown bears.[2][167][171] The largest amount of legalized brown bear hunting occurs in Canada, Finland, Russia, Slovakia and Alaska.[72]
Hunting is unregulated in many areas within the range of the brown
bear. Even where hunting is legally permitted, most biologists feel that
the numbers hunted are excessive considering the low reproduction rate
and sparse distribution of the species.[2][132][169]
Brown bears are also killed in collisions with automobiles, which is a
significant cause of mortality in the United States and Europe.[172][173]
Relationship with humans
Conflicts between bears and humans
Brown bears usually avoid areas where extensive development or urbanization has occurred, unlike the smaller, more inoffensive American black bear which can adapt to peri-urban regions.[174][175][176][177] Under many circumstances, extensive human development may cause brown bears to alter their home ranges.[178][179]
High road densities (both paved and gravel roads) are often associated
with higher mortality, habitat avoidance and lower bear density.[180]
However, brown bears can easily lose their natural cautiousness upon
being attracted to human-created food sources, such as garbage dumps,
litter bins and dumpsters. Brown bears may even venture into human
dwellings or barns in search of food as humans encroach on bear habitats.[181] In other areas, such as Alaska, dumps may continue to be an attractant for brown bears.[182][183] In different parts of their distribution, brown bears sometimes kill and eat domesticated animals.[184][185][186]
The saying "A fed bear is a dead bear" has come into use to popularize
the idea that allowing a bear to scavenge human garbage, such as trash
cans and campers' backpacks, pet food, or other food sources that draw the bear into contact with humans, can result in the bear's death.[187]
Results of a 2016 study performed in a southeastern British Columbian
valley indicate that areas where attractive bear food and concentrated
human settlements overlap, human-bear conflict can create an ecological trap
resulting in a lower apparent survival rate for brown bears, as well as
attracting additional bears and thereby causing overall population
declines.[188]
When brown bears come to associate human activity with a "food
reward", they are likely to continue to become emboldened; the
likelihood of human-bear encounters increases, as they may return to the
same location despite relocation. Relocation of the bear has been used
to separate the bear from the human environment, but it does not address
the problem of the bear's newly learned association of humans with food
or the environmental situations which created the human-habituated
bear. "Placing a bear in habitat used by other bears may lead to
competition and social conflict, and result in the injury or death of
the less dominant bear."[189] Yellowstone National Park, a reserve located in the western United States, contains prime habitat for the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis)
and due to the enormous number of visitors, human-bear encounters are
common. The scenic beauty of the area has led to an influx of people
moving into the area. In addition, because there are so many bear
relocations to the same remote areas of Yellowstone, and because male
bears tend to dominate the center of the relocation zone, female bears
tend to be pushed to the boundaries of the region and beyond. As a
result, a large proportion of repeat offenders, bears that are killed
for public safety, are females. This creates a further depressive effect
on an already-endangered subspecies. The grizzly bear is officially
described as "Threatened" in the U.S.. Although the problem is most
significant with regard to grizzlies, these issues affect the other
types of brown bears as well.[190][191][192]
In Europe, part of the problem lies with shepherds; over the past two centuries, many sheep and goat herders have gradually abandoned the more traditional practice of using dogs
to guard flocks, which have concurrently grown larger. Typically, they
allow the herds to graze freely over sizeable tracts of land. As brown
bears reclaim parts of their range, they may eat livestock as sheep and
goats are relatively easy for a bear to kill. In some cases, the
shepherds shoot the bear, thinking their livelihood is under threat.
Many are now better informed about the ample compensation available and
will make a claim when they lose livestock to a bear.[193][194][195] Another issue in several parts of their range in Europe is supplemental feeding stations where various kind of animal carrion is offered, which are set up mainly in Scandinavia and eastern Europe
both to support the locally threatened species and so humans can enjoy
watching bears that may otherwise prove evasive. Despite that most
stations were cautiously set in remote areas far from human habitations,
some brown bears in such areas have become conditioned to associate
humans with food and become excessively bold "problem bears". Also,
supplemental feeding appears to cause no decrease in livestock
predation.[196][197]
Bear encounters and attacks
Brown bears seldom attack humans on sight and usually avoid people. In Russia, it is estimated that 1 in 1,000 on-foot encounters with brown bears results in an attack.[198] They are, however, unpredictable in temperament, and may attack if they are surprised or feel threatened.[199] There are an average of two fatal attacks by bears per year in North America.[200] In Scandinavia,
there are only four known cases since 1902 of bear encounters which
have resulted in death. The two most common causes for bear attack are
surprise and curiosity.[201] Some types of bears, such as polar bears, are more likely to attack humans when searching for food, while American black bears
are much less likely to attack. Despite their boldness and potential
for predation if the bear is hungry, polar bears rarely attack humans,
because they are infrequently encountered in the Arctic sea.[200]
Aggressive behavior in brown bears is favored by numerous selection
variables. Increased aggressiveness also assists female brown bears in
better ensuring the survival of their young to reproductive age.[202]
Mothers defending cubs are the most prone to attacking, being
responsible for 70% of brown bear-caused human fatalities in North
America.[203]
Sows with cubs account for many attacks on humans by brown bears in North America. Habituated
or food-conditioned bears can also be dangerous, as their long-term
exposure to humans causes them to lose their natural shyness and, in
some cases, to associate humans with food. Small parties of one or two
people are more often attacked by brown bears than large groups, with
only one known case of an attack on a group of six or more. In that
instance, it is thought that due to surprise, the grizzly bear may not
have recognized the size of the group.[204] In the majority of attacks resulting in injury, brown bears precede the attack with a growl or huffing sound.[199]
In contrast to injuries caused by American black bears, which are
usually minor, brown bear attacks more often tend to result in serious
injury and, in some cases, death.[199]
Brown bears seem to confront humans as they would when fighting other
bears: they rise up on their hind legs, and attempt to "disarm" their
victims by biting and holding on to the lower jaw to avoid being bitten
in turn.[24]
Due to the bears' enormous physical strength, even a single bite or
swipe can be deadly as in tigers, with some human victims having had
their heads completely crushed by a bear bite.[63][205]
Most attacks occur in the months of July, August and September, the
time when the number of outdoor recreationalists, such as hikers or
hunters, is higher. People who assert their presence through noises tend
to be less vulnerable, as they alert bears to their presence. In direct
confrontations, people who run are statistically more likely to be
attacked than those who stand their ground. Violent encounters with
brown bears usually last only a few minutes, though they can be
prolonged if the victims fight back.[199] In Alberta,
two common behaviors by human hunters, imitating the calls of deer to
attract them and carrying ungulate carcasses, seem to court aggressive
behavior and lead to a higher rate of attack from grizzly bears.[206]
Attacks on humans are considered extremely rare in the former Soviet Union, though exceptions exist in districts where they are not as often pursued by hunters.[62]
East Siberian brown bears, for example, tend to be much bolder toward
humans than their shyer, more persecuted European counterparts. The
delineation in Eurasia between areas where aggressiveness of brown bears
tends to increase is the Ural Mountains, although the brown bears of eastern Europe are somewhat more aggressive than those of western Europe.[167][207] In 2008, a platinum
mining compound in the Olyotorsky district of northern Kamchatka was
besieged by a group of 30 bears, who killed two guards and prevented
workers from leaving their homes.[208]
10 people a year on average are killed by brown bears in Russia, more
than all the other parts of the brown bear's international range
combined, although Russia also holds more brown bears than all other
parts of the world combined.[209] In Scandinavia, only three fatal attacks were recorded in the 20th century.[210]
In Japan, a large brown bear nicknamed "Kesagake" (袈裟懸け, "kesa-style slasher") made history for causing the worst brown bear attack in Japanese history at Tomamae, Hokkaidō
during numerous encounters during December 1915. It killed seven people
and wounded three others (with possibly another three previous
fatalities to its credit) before being gunned down after a large-scale
beast-hunt. Today, there is still a shrine at Rokusensawa (六線沢), where
the event took place in memory of the victims of the incident.[211]
Within Yellowstone National Park, injuries caused by grizzly
attacks in developed areas averaged approximately one per year during
the 1930s through to the 1950s, though it increased to four per year
during the 1960s. They then decreased to one injury every two years
during the 1970s. Between 1980 and 2002, there have been only two human
injuries caused by grizzly bears in a developed area. Although grizzly
attacks were rare in the backcountry before 1970, the number of attacks
increased to an average of approximately one per year during the 1970s,
1980s and 1990s.[212] In Alberta,
from 1960 to 1998, the number of attacks by grizzly bears ending in
injury were nearly three times more common than attacks ending in injury
by American black bears, despite the American black bear being an estimated 38 times more numerous in the province than the grizzly bear.[213]
History of defense from bears
A study by U.S. and Canadian researchers has found pepper spray to be more effective at stopping aggressive bear behavior than guns, working in 92% of studied incidents versus 67% for guns.[214]
Carrying pepper spray is highly recommended by many authorities when
traveling in bear country; however, carrying two means of deterrent, one
of which is a large caliber gun, is also advised. Solid shotgun slugs,
or three buckshot rounds, or a pistol of .44 caliber or more is
suggested if a heavy hunting rifle is not available. Guns remain a
viable, last resort option to be used in defense of life from aggressive
brown bears.[215] Too often, people do not carry a proper caliber weapon to neutralize the bear. According to the Alaska Science Center, a 12-gauge shotgun with slugs
has been the most effective weapon. There have been fewer injuries as a
result of only carrying lethal loads in the shotgun, as opposed to
deterrent rounds. State of Alaska Defense of Life or Property (DLP) laws
require one to report the kill to the authorities and salvage the hide,
skull and claws.[216]
A page at the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources website
offers information about how to "select a gun that will stop a bear
(12-gauge shotgun or .300 mag rifle)".[217]
Campers are often told to wear bright-colored red ribbons and
bells and carry whistles to ward off bears. They are told to look for
grizzly bear scat in camping areas and be careful to carry the bells and
whistles in those areas. Grizzly bear scat is difficult to
differentiate from American black bear scat, as diet is in a constant
state of flux depending on the availability of seasonal food items. If a
bear is killed near camp, the bear's carcass must be adequately
disposed of, including entrails and blood, if possible. Failure to move
the carcass has often resulted in it attracting other bears and further
exacerbating a bad situation. Moving camps immediately is another
recommended method.[199]
Culture
Brown bears often figure into the literature of Europe and North America, in particular that which is written for children. "The Brown Bear of Norway" is a Scottish fairy tale
telling the adventures of a girl who married a prince magically turned
into a bear and who managed to get him back into a human form by the
force of her love and after many trials and difficulties. With "Goldilocks and the Three Bears",
a story from England, the Three Bears are usually depicted as brown
bears. In German-speaking countries, children are often told the
fairytale of "Snow White and Rose Red";
the handsome prince in this tale has been transfigured into a brown
bear. In the United States, parents often read their preschool age
children the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? to teach them their colors and how they are associated with different animals.[218]
The Russian bear is a common national personification for Russia (as well as the former Soviet Union), despite the country having no appointed national animal. The brown bear is Finland's national animal.[219]
The grizzly bear is the state animal of Montana.[220] The California golden bear is the state animal of California.[221] Both animals are subspecies of the brown bear and the species was extirpated from the latter state.
The coat of arms of Madrid depicts a bear reaching up into a madroño or strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) to eat some of its fruit, whereas the Swiss city of Bern's
coat of arms also depicts a bear and the city's name is popularly
thought to derive from the German word for bear. The brown bear is
depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 5 kuna coin, minted since 1993.
The Bundesliga club Bayern Munich has a brown bear mascot named Berni. The Chicago National Football League (NFL) franchise is named the Bears. In this context, no differentiation between American black and brown bears is needed. The school mascot for Bob Jones University, Brown University, George Fox University, the University of Alberta, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, Riverside, and numerous American high schools is the brown bear.
In the town of Prats de Molló, in Vallespir, southern France, a "bear festival" (festa de l'ós)
is celebrated annually at the beginning of spring, in which the locals
dress up as bears, cover themselves with soot or coal and oil and
"attack" the onlookers, attempting to get everyone dirty. The festival
ends with the ball de l'os (bear dance).
Binomial name
Ursus arctos
Brown bear range map
female with juvenile
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