Brown bear

Ursus arctos · The brown bear is a large bear that lives in forests and other habitats across Eurasia and North America.

Brown bear
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0
Brown bear
Photo: © Francis C. Franklin / CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0
Brown bear
Photo: Yathin S Krishnappa, CC BY-SA 3.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderCarnivora
FamilyUrsidae
GenusUrsus
SpeciesUrsus arctos

Where it lives

Forests and mountains of northern Eurasia and western North America.

Fun facts

  • Despite their fierce reputation, brown bears get up to 90% of their food energy from plants like berries, grasses, acorns and mushrooms.
  • Yellowstone bears can gobble as many as 40,000 army cutworm moths in a single day.
  • Brown bears are the only bears with a shoulder hump, and it is made entirely of muscle to give extra force when digging.
  • Baby brown bears are born blind, toothless and hairless, weighing only about 350 to 510 grams.

Play it

The Brown bear was the creature in a regional daily on October 25, 2026. Can you identify tomorrow's from its photos? Every day brings a new creature to place from kingdom to genus, map and name.

Play today's creature or replay a past daily

Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).