Chicago Zoological Society

Widespread, But Rare

A contradiction
Brown bears are the most widespread bears on Earth. They live on three continents---North America, Asia, and Europe---and less than 200 years ago they inhabited such seemingly unbear-like places as Mexico and northern Africa. Today, although their range is still vast, brown bears are rare in terms of absolute numbers. They have been hunted relentlessly, and their habitats fragmented or lost completely due to human expansion. In America, brown bears are on the Endangered Species List.

What color are brown bears?
It's not a trick question. Brown bears come in such a wide variety of sizes and colors that for years scientists divided the group into more than 200 different species and subspecies. For example, brown bears in parts of Europe weigh about 160 pounds (70 kilograms), while Kodiak bears and Alaskan brown bears (bears from Kodiak Island on the coastal Alaskan mainland, respectively) can weigh in excess of 1,200 pounds (575 kilograms). These kinds of bears are some of the largest in the world. Only polar bears can grow larger.

To confuse matters further, brown bears come in an array of colors. Some brown bears really do have brown coats, but others run the color spectrum from cream-colored to almost black. The medium-sized brown bears of the Rocky Mountains—also known as grizzly bears—were named for the silver-tipped sheen of their fur. 

Brown bear necessities
Despite all this variation, there are a few traits that distinguish brown bears from other bears, and especially from the American black bear. Large shoulder muscles give brown bears a prominent hump, something that black bears lack. Brown bears’ snouts slope upward sharply to the forehead, creating a dish-shaped face. Black bears have a straighter, longer nose.

I’ll have everything
Brown bears are generalists—they'll eat almost anything. But the bulk of their diet is berries, nuts, and roots. So why are they classified as carnivores? Because the recent bear ancestors had scissors-like premolars to shear through flesh—just like cats and dogs of today. Modern bears have evolved flatter, all-purpose side teeth that are primarily good for grinding plant matter, but can also cut through meat. They also have four formidable canine teeth characteristic of many carnivores.

In some areas, brown bears fatten up on salmon they catch with their quick claws and strong jaws. These same powerful weapons allow brown bears to successfully hunt animals as large as moose.

Bears in mind
The bears of our imagination might be big, snarling beasts that attack at a moment's notice. That image was born, in part, from accounts of 18th and 19th century explorers and settlers who moved west across North America. Used to the smaller and generally more docile black bear of the east, explorers would use the same "shoot and ask questions later" tactic on brown bears. But a wounded brown bear proved to be a dangerous and tenacious opponent, and gave the species an almost mythic reputation for ferocity. Brown bears will aggressively defend their territories and young. Unprovoked attacks on people are extremely rare.

Alaskan brown bears at Brookfield Zoo
Two Alaskan brown bears, named Angoon Axhi and Kootznoowoo Jim (or Axhi and Jim for short) live in the Bear Grottos. They are orphaned brothers from Admiralty Island in southeastern Alaska. The bears were rescued as cubs in 1995, through a cooperative effort between Brookfield Zoo and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Thanks to the zoo’s excellent care, Jim and Axhi are healthy and strong, and each weighs about 1,000 pounds!