Mammals of the WorldBrown Bear
Ursus arctos
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Ursidae
- Genus
- Ursus
- IUCN status
- LC
- Distribution
- Afghanistan|Albania|Armenia|Azerbaijan|Belarus|Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bulgaria|Canada|China|Croatia|Estonia|Finland|France|Georgia|Greece|India|Iran|Iraq|Italy|Japan|Kazakhstan|North Korea|Kyrgyzstan|Latvia|Mongolia|Montenegro|Nepal|North Macedonia|Norway|Pakistan|Poland|Romania|Russia|Serbia|Kosovo|Slovakia|Slovenia|Spain|Sweden|Tajikistan|Turkey|Ukraine|United States|Uzbekistan|Lebanon|Syria|Bhutan?|Austria?|Czech Republic?|Switzerland?|Turkmenistan?
- Realm
- Nearctic|Palearctic
Other names: Grizzly Bear|Kodiak Bear
About this species
- Weight
- Generally 80–600kg
- Diet
- Omnivorous; about 90% plant matter, plus insects, rodents and carrion
- Habitat
- Wide; in the Himalayas from sea level to about 5,000m
- Litter size
- 1–3 cubs
The brown bear is a large bear, and one of the two biggest land carnivorans. Individuals vary in weight through the year, lightest in spring and heaviest in late autumn after a period of heavy feeding. The Himalayan brown bear is one of the smaller forms, and in India brown bears can be reddish with silver-tipped hairs. The Wikipedia account describes it as critically endangered, occupying only about 2% of its former range and threatened by uncontrolled poaching for body parts (Wikipedia, general species account).
Across its range it is mostly solitary, gathering only at rich food sources, and although it is a carnivoran it gets about 90% of its diet from plants. Bears put on up to 180 kg of fat over summer and autumn to carry them through winter, when they den in a cave, crevice or hollow log and become lethargic. Females have one to three cubs, which stay with them for 1.5 to 4.5 years. In Himalayan Nepal farmers may kill brown bears in revenge for livestock losses (Wikipedia, general species account).
Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)