Brown bear map Ursus arctos Least concern

Interesting facts

• Brown bears are the only extant bears with a hump at the top of their shoulder, which is made entirely of muscle. [source]
• The largest populations are in Russia with 130,000, the United States with 32,500, and Canada with around 25,000. [source]
• The smallest populations are most vulnerable to habitat loss and fragmentation, whereas the largest are primarily threatened by overhunting. [source]
• Brown bears have one of the largest brains of any extant carnivoran relative to their body size. [source]
• The largest and most powerful males claim the most fruitful fishing spots and will sometimes fight over the rights to them. [source]

About the brown bear

The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is 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 are larger and more compactly built than females. The fur ranges in color from cream to reddish to dark brown. It has evolved large hump muscles, unique among bears, and paws up to 21 cm (8.3 in) wide and 36 cm (14 in) long, to effectively dig through dirt. Its teeth are similar to those of other bears and reflect its dietary plasticity.

Subspecies (20)

Subspecies listed in Wikidata as children of Ursus arctos (fossil-only taxa excluded). Classification is debated for many animals and lists differ between authorities.

• 
  Ursus arctos horribilis – Grizzly bear
  on the map
• 
  Ursus arctos arctos
  on the map
• 
  Ursus arctos middendorffi
  on the map
• 
  Ursus arctos lasiotus
  on the map
• 
  Ursus arctos beringianus
  on the map
• 
  Ursus arctos syriacus
  on the map
• 
  Ursus arctos collaris
  on the map
• 
  Ursus arctos gyas
  on the map
• 
  Ursus arctos isabellinus
  on the map
• Ursus arctos alascensis
  7 open-licence GBIF records (too few to map)
• Ursus arctos dalli
  no open-licence GBIF records
• 
  Ursus arctos gobiensis Critically endangered
  no open-licence GBIF records
• 
  Ursus arctos marsicanus
  8 open-licence GBIF records (too few to map)
• Ursus arctos piscator
  no open-licence GBIF records
• 
  Ursus arctos pruinosus
  3 open-licence GBIF records (too few to map)
• 
  Ursus arctos pyrenaicus – Cantabrian brown bear
  no open-licence GBIF records
• Ursus arctos shanorum
  no open-licence GBIF records
• 
  Ursus arctos sitkensis
  9 open-licence GBIF records (too few to map)
• 
  Ursus arctos stikeenensis
  3 open-licence GBIF records (too few to map)
• Ursus arctos yesoensis
  no open-licence GBIF records

Photos

Text in “About”, “Interesting facts” and “Population” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Brown bear (revision 1381233748), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: sentences excerpted verbatim, citations and formatting removed. No text added. Taxa and status: Wikidata Q36341 (CC0).

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