Brown Bear

A powerful, adaptable species playing a vital role in the ecosystems it inhabits.

Full Name: Brown Bear

Latin Name: Ursos Arctos

Classification: Mammal

Adult Weight: Males typically from 180 to 360 kg, Females usually between 30 and 200kg.

Adult Length: From 1.4 to 2.8 metres from head to tail. When they stand upright on their hind legs, they can reach up to 3 metres (10 feet) tall!

Lifespan: Typically 20 to 30 years, up to 40 in captivity!

Preferred Habitat: Mainly forested habitats in elevations of up to 16,000 ft.

Status: Extinct in Britain since around a thousand years ago, Least Concern overall today.

Grizzly bears are a subspecies of the brown bear found in North America. © Wolfgang Horvath

Brown Bear

The brown bear is a powerful and iconic species found across North America, Europe, and Asia. Known for its strength and adaptability, this omnivorous giant thrives in diverse habitats, from forests and mountains to coastal regions. Brown bears play a crucial role in ecosystems by controlling prey populations and helping to disperse seeds. Though they face threats from habitat loss and climate change, they remain a symbol of the wild’s strength and resilience.

Why are Brown Bears Important to Rewilding?

As large carnivores, brown bears help maintain the balance of ecosystems by controlling prey populations like deer, which prevents overgrazing and allows vegetation to thrive. Brown bears also contribute to nutrient cycling by spreading seeds and aerating the soil while foraging and digging. In rewilding projects, restoring apex predators like the brown bear can help revive natural processes, leading to healthier, more resilient ecosystems.

Brown bears use shallow pools and streams to cool off in hot weather. © Hakan Carlander

Past Brown Bear Rewilding Efforts

Rewilding projects featuring brown bears have taken place across Europe, with notable successes in restoring populations and ecosystems. In the Central Apennines of Italy, conservation efforts have focused on the critically endangered Marsican brown bear, aiming to protect vital habitats and reduce human-wildlife conflict.

Meanwhile, in the Pyrenees, a bold reintroduction project began in 1996 to revive the bear population, which had nearly disappeared by the early 1990s. Slovenian brown bears were released into the region, and while initially met with resistance, this project has helped create a growing population that is slowly reclaiming its place in the local ecosystem.

Over in Romania’s Carpathian Mountains, rewilding efforts have centred around preserving one of the largest populations of brown bears in Europe. The focus here is not just on protecting bears but ensuring the coexistence of humans and wildlife through the maintenance of vast forest habitats and crucial wildlife corridors. These rewilding projects have not only aided in the recovery of brown bear populations but have also demonstrated the importance of large carnivores in restoring ecosystem balance.

Brown bears have a shoulder hump that gives them immense digging power. © Pixabay

Current & Future Brown Bear Rewilding Projects

Today, the conversation around rewilding brown bears continues, especially in North America and Europe, where efforts to protect and expand habitats remain ongoing. In the U.S., Yellowstone National Park’s grizzly bear recovery has become a symbol of successful conservation. Once threatened, this population has made an impressive comeback thanks to habitat restoration and careful management. The North Cascades in Washington state is another area of focus, where discussions around reintroducing bears are gaining momentum. Although controversial, these efforts could help restore the grizzly to this vast and ecologically rich region. Similarly, the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho and Montana have been identified as a prime location for future rewilding, with proposals still under consideration to return grizzly bears to this landscape.

In Europe, ongoing projects continue to protect and connect bear populations across borders. Initiatives in the Balkans and the Alps are working to establish wildlife corridors, which are essential for bears to roam safely between fragmented habitats. Looking to the future, these corridors, combined with public engagement and habitat restoration, are key strategies to support the long-term survival of brown bears in both Europe and North America. While challenges such as human-bear conflict persist, the drive to restore these magnificent creatures to their natural habitats remains strong, with rewilding offering hope for the future of both brown bears and the ecosystems they help sustain.

Standing on their hind legs allows bears to scan for prey, other bears, or potential threats. © Foto-Rabe, Pixabay

Bears rely on fat reserves built up in the summer to survive the winter. © Tapani Hellman

Physical Description

The brown bear has a large, broad head with a prominent, dish-shaped face and small, rounded ears. Its thick fur ranges in colour from light brown to almost black, with shades of cream or grey also appearing, depending on the region. The brown bear's hump of muscle on its shoulders is one of its most defining features, providing extra strength for digging. Strong limbs and long claws - sometimes up to 10 cm - make it an excellent digger and climber. Adult males can weigh between 180 to 360 kg, while females are smaller, but still impressively powerful. Its size and strength make it a majestic symbol of the wild.

They consume up to 90 pounds of food in a day before hibernation. © Sascha Zyballa

Brown Bear Behaviour

Brown bears are generally solitary animals, with the exception of mothers with cubs and during mating season. They have large home ranges and spend much of their time foraging, as their omnivorous diet requires them to cover vast areas in search of food.

During winter months, brown bears enter a state of torpor rather than true hibernation. Their heart rate and metabolism slow dramatically, allowing them to survive for months without eating, drinking, or passing waste. Before this period, bears consume vast amounts of food to build fat reserves, sometimes doubling their weight.

Brown bears are also curious and intelligent, displaying problem-solving abilities when searching for food. They have been known to use their strength to access hard-to-reach food sources or adapt to new challenges presented by their environment. While typically not territorial, they may show dominance around key food sources, particularly in areas where multiple bears congregate, such as salmon streams.

What Threats do Brown Bears Face?

Brown bears face several key threats, primarily due to human activity. Habitat loss from deforestation and urban expansion reduces their roaming areas, leading to increased human-bear conflicts, where bears are often killed. Poaching and illegal hunting remain issues, particularly where bear parts are valued.

Food scarcity, worsened by climate change, impacts bears, as changing weather patterns affect key resources like salmon and berries. Additionally, climate change itself threatens habitats, altering ecosystems crucial for their survival. Conservation efforts are essential to address these risks and protect bear populations.

Their claws can grow up to 10 cm long, perfect for digging and climbing. © C_Hmauck, Pixabay

The brown bear once roamed the forests of Britain until around 1,000 AD. © strichpunkt, Pixabay

What do Brown Bears Eat?

The brown bear has the most varied diet of any bear. 90% of their energy comes from vegetation, including berries, grasses, flowers, acorns & pinecones, and mushrooms. They also use their strong claws to dig for roots, bulbs and shoots.

As for the meat they consume, they frequently scavenge carrion and, in some places, moths! Bears in Yellowstone National Park can eat as many as 40,000 moths in a single day in the summer, as they're a great source of fat when preparing for hibernation.

A much more well-known aspect of the brown bear's diet is salmon, where they can get it. Bears in Alaska often congregate around small waterfalls where salmon leap up in their migration and catch them in mid-air. The leftover fish they take away from the rivers are scavenged by foxes, bald eagles, ravens and gulls, and further leftovers are taken up by nearby plants via the soil, nourishing the surrounding ecosystem further.

Brown bears are also kleptoparasites, meaning they steal food from other animals like wolves, cougars or lynx. Bears are big and strong enough to chase these other predators away from their kills, saving energy and avoiding the effort of hunting! Clever and lazy!

Many Indigenous peoples consider the bear a symbol of wisdom and a protector of the forest. © ambquinn, Pixabay

Cultural Significance

Brown bears hold deep cultural significance in many societies, symbolising strength, power, and resilience. In Native American cultures, bears are revered as spiritual beings and often seen as protectors or symbols of courage and leadership. Bear imagery appears in totems, stories, and rituals, reflecting their importance in both physical and spiritual realms.

In Europe, the brown bear has long been featured in folklore, mythology, and heraldry. For example, in Norse mythology, the bear was associated with the god Thor and revered for its ferocity. Similarly, in Slavic traditions, the bear often represents strength and the wild. In modern times, bears have become symbols of conservation, representing the fight to protect wilderness areas and endangered species.

Distribution of the Brown Bear

Brown bears have one of the widest distributions of any bear species. They are found across parts of North America, Europe, and Asia. In North America, they are commonly found in Alaska and western Canada, with smaller populations in the lower 48 states, such as Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. In Europe, brown bears live in countries like Romania, Russia, Finland, and the Pyrenees region of Spain and France. In Asia, they inhabit vast areas, ranging from Russia’s Siberian wilderness to parts of China, Mongolia, and the Himalayas.

Their range is heavily influenced by habitat availability, with populations concentrated in remote, mountainous, and forested areas, where they have access to sufficient food and space to roam.

Bears rely on their keen hearing to detect danger and prey from afar. © ambquinn, Pixabay

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