Learn about the North American bear species, including polar bears, brown and black bear size, black bear hibernation, and the diversity and resourcefulness of ursine animals.
No other animal touches our hearts and very souls like the bear. They’re part of our lives whether we live in the city or the countryside. Bears have been part of many of our childhood stories, from Goldilocks and the Three Bears to The Jungle Book. Many kids have grown up with a teddy bear and, in my day, a healthy dose of Yogi Bear.
For me, and many other people of Native American ancestry, the bear plays a major role in our origin stories. In many of the stories, the bear taught the people how to hunt, fish, and gather plants for both food and medicine. To my ancestors, the bear held great power and was a protection spirit. I grew up surrounded by the sign of the bear. My mother, who was First Nation Mi’kmaq, was a spiritual woman whose spirit animal was Mui’n (Mi’kmaq for “bear”).
What do we know about this animal that plays such a role in our lives? To find out, I spent time in the field and spoke to biologists, ranchers, and Native elders. I’ve also relied on some terrific books written by some remarkable authors.
My Time in the Field
I’ve never stopped searching for our connections with bears. While in Alaska, I stopped along the Alaska Highway to speak to elders about berries and bears. After reading Michael W. Leach’s book Grizzlies On My Mind, I traveled to Yellowstone National Park where I met up with a guide from Yellowstone Wolf Tracker and toured the park looking for both bears and wolves. My guide, Quinn, was a biologist who educated me on bear ecology. He took me places I never would’ve found on my own, where we saw black bears, grizzly bears, and wolves. I traveled south to the Smoky Mountains and then to Florida. I also spent time right here in northern New England, where there seems to be a black bear around every corner and in places you’d least expect them.
America’s Bears
In her book Eight Bears, Gloria Dickie says there are eight bear species worldwide and three of them are found here in North America: the American black bear (Ursus americanus), the brown bear (Ursus arctos), and the polar bear (Ursus maritimus). Of those three, the American black bear is found only in North America. Now, you may be asking about the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), but the grizzly bear is actually a subspecies of the brown bear. Sixteen subspecies of American black bears are found throughout North America, and, according to the National Park Service, while they may all look alike, each subspecies has evolved to its environment.
Polar, Brown and Black Bear Hibernation
Both brown bears and American black bears are omnivores, meaning they’ll eat anything, plant or animal, that’s available, while only the polar bear is a true carnivore. Another difference is hibernation. Brown and black bears go into a state of semi-hibernation in the colder months, and it’s at this time they give birth.
Polar bears are completely opposite. They go into a semi-hibernation state in the warmer months, after the sea ice has melted, and give birth. Polar bears rely on sea ice to hunt seals, so it doesn’t make sense for them to hibernate during peak hunting season.
Bears give birth to 2 to 4 cubs at a time, though only a small percentage will survive to adulthood. Everything depends on the availability of food. The cubs will stay with their mothers for about two years, during which time they’ll learn the lessons they’ll need to survive. Their mother will teach them where to find food and, more importantly, how to avoid humans and adult male bears.
Adult male bears are only interested in one thing: mating. A female bear will come into estrus once her cubs are grown and on their own. For that reason, the cubs are at significant risk of infanticide at the paws of an adult male. A female bear’s entire intent is to keep her young safe from all real or perceived threats.
There are numerous recorded examples of females defending their cubs from much larger males and humans who get too close. In her book Taken by Bear in Yellowstone, Kathleen Snow documents many instances where people were attacked, and some killed, by mother grizzly bears who considered them threats. Sadly, most of the people just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
In her book Wild Woman, Philippa Forrester tells the tale of a starving female grizzly who, trying to feed her cubs, attacks a campsite. The bear kills one person and injures several others. She ends up being killed, and her cubs taken into captivity. She did everything she could, and it cost her life. Don’t ever underestimate a mother bear.
Diverse Black Bears
The black bear is the most common: It’s the one most of us will come into contact with. Black bears are found from Canada and Alaska to Florida and Mexico. Black bears in New England will display different habits and characteristics than those found in Florida, which will again be different than those in Alaska. Some of those differences may include food choices, size, color, and hibernation habits.
Black Bear Size
When it comes to the size of black bears, location is everything. According to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, adult males range from 200 to 250 pounds and females from 125 to 150 pounds. Black bears in Wyoming tend to be larger; the National Park Service notes that males may weigh up to 440 pounds and females up to 250 pounds. When on all fours, a full-grown bear will measure about 3 feet at the shoulder and up to 7 feet tall when standing on its hind legs.
Black bears aren’t always black. They can range in color from black to brown, cinnamon, cream, or white. Identification can be confusing, so just remember there are no brown bears outside of the Rockies. There are brown black bears, but no brown bears.
As for food, black bears will eat just about anything. In areas from the Smoky Mountains north to New England, these bears feed mainly on plants, berries, and nuts. They’re also fond of insects (think bees). In fact, when bears raid hives, they aren’t after the honey so much as they’re after the bees. They’ll also feed on any animal carcass they come across.
Resourceful Brown Bears
Alaska is the place to go if you want to find the highest concentrations of brown bears, namely the grizzly and the Kodiak (Ursus arctos middendorffi). According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the grizzly can be divided into two categories: those found along the southern coastal regions of the state, and those in the interior. Some sources say the coastal bears should be considered a separate subspecies, but as of this writing, they aren’t. The Kodiak bears are found only on Kodiak Island and have developed into a distinct subspecies.
The Kodiak bear is the largest, measuring 5 feet at the shoulder and around 10 feet tall when standing on its hind legs. These bears can weigh up to 1,500 pounds. Next in size come the bears found along the southern coastal areas. These bears, while smaller than the Kodiak, are generally larger than their inland cousins. The grizzly of the interior is the “smallest” of the three, standing a little over 3 feet at the shoulder and weighing in at around 500 pounds.
Like the black bear, when it comes to the size of brown bears, it’s all about location. The Kodiak and coastal bears of Alaska achieve their size because of the abundant food supply and the location of their habitat. The coastal areas of Alaska don’t see the severe weather of the interior, so there’s a greater availability of food. These bears have a rich diet of fish and plants. This isn’t the case for grizzlies living in the interior. These bears find themselves battling times of severe cold and, in some cases, a lack of food. Here, grizzlies feed mainly on plants and carrion, though they’ll readily take a young caribou or moose if the opportunity presents itself.
So, what about the grizzlies in the Lower 48? According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, grizzlies found in the Lower 48 range between 400 and 600 pounds for males, and 250 to 350 pounds for females. The National Park Service notes that while the average weight for adult male and female grizzlies in the Yellowstone region is 413 pounds and 269 pounds, respectively, the highest weight recorded for this population is 715 pounds and 436 pounds, respectively. A fully grown male will stand 3.5 feet tall at the shoulder.
So, why the difference? Grizzlies in the Lower 48 have a greater choice of food for a longer period of time. Plants, berries, and insects are more abundant. There’s also no shortage of rodents, such as ground squirrels and marmots, along with the plentiful carcasses of winter-killed elk and deer. Grizzlies are rather good hunters when they have to be.
Hardy Polar Bears
The polar bear is the only one that I haven’t seen in the wild. Polar bears, like Kodiak bears, are unique, having evolved to survive in one specific environment – in this case, the polar ice caps of the Arctic.
The polar regions of North America are tough places to live, and it’s here where the polar bear has adapted to the life of a true carnivore. Its main food sources are marine mammals, such as ringed seals, bearded seals, walruses, and dead whales washed up on the icy shores. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, males average 600 to 1,200 pounds, though they can weigh up to 1,700 pounds. Females average 400 to 700 pounds.
The availability of food, or the lack of it, determines bear behavior. In the Arctic, where food is never a sure thing, polar bears survive by being solitary creatures, coming together only to mate. When multiple bears are seen together, they’re usually either a mother with cubs, or coming to feed on a large food source, such as a washed-up whale. Even in this case, the first to eat will be the largest male. The other bears will only eat when he’s finished.
Beary Varied
The world of the bear is vast and wonderful. From the common black bears foraging from bird feeders to the arctic bears pulling seals out of holes in the ice, bears in all their forms are a marvelous part of our diverse environment.
Dana Benner has been writing about all aspects of the outdoors, sustainability, and the environment for 35 years, with his work appearing in numerous publications.
Originally published in the May/June 2025 issue of Grit magazine and regularly vetted for accuracy.
