Subspecies of brown bear#Dall Island brown bear

Formerly or currently considered subspecies or populations of brown bears (ursus arctos) have been listed as follows:{{MSW3 Wozencraft |id=14000970 |pages=588–589 |heading=Ursus arctos}}[https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180543 Ursus arctos], ITIS

List

=Eurasia and North Africa=

class="wikitable"

|+ style="text-align: centre;" | Palearctic realm (Eurasia and North Africa)

!Subspecies/population !! Image !! Distribution!! Description/comments

Ursus arctos arctos – Eurasian brown bear or European brown bear

|140 px

| The most widespread subspecies in Europe, as well as their range in Western Russia and the Caucasus. May be found as far east in Russia as the Yenisei River in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug to Novosibirsk Oblast in the south, where the subspecies intergrades into U. a. collaris.{{cite book |title=Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Moskva: Vysšaia Škola |trans-title=Mammals of the Soviet Union, Volume II, Part 1a, Sirenia and Carnivora (Sea cows; Wolves and Bears) |volume=II, Part 1a |editor1=V. G. Heptner |editor2=N. P. Naumov |publisher=Science Publishers, Inc. |year=1998 |isbn=1-886106-81-9 |location=Washington, D.C., USA |url=https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofsov211998gept#page/648/mode/2up}}

| A predominantly dark, richly brown colored (with rare light-colored individuals), moderately sized subspecies with dark claws, the Eurasian brown bears occurring in Russia are larger than their European counterparts, which may be in part because they are hunted less.

Ursus arctos beringianus – Kamchatkan brown bear or Far Eastern brown bear

|140 px

| the coastal lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk down as far as the Shantar Islands, Kolyma, all the land around the Shelikhov Gulf, the Kamchatka Peninsula and Paramushir Island

| A very large bear with a broad muzzle. Overall has dark coloring, some animals appearing almost blackish-brown but will usually be paler at the top of the back. It may overlap with U. a. collaris extensively a few miles inland. It is thought to be the ancestor of the polar bear, the Kodiak bear,{{cite book |last1=McLellan |first1=Bruce |last2=Reiner |first2=David C. |year=1994 |chapter=A Review of bear evolution |url=http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_9/McLellan_Reiner_Vol_9.pdf |title=Bears: Their Biology and Management |volume=9 (Part 1) |pages=85–96 |publisher=International Association for Bear Research and Management |doi=10.2307/3872687 |jstor=3872687 |access-date=2019-11-19 |archive-date=2022-10-09 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_9/McLellan_Reiner_Vol_9.pdf |url-status=dead }} and the peninsular brown bears of Alaska. Middendorf described it from Greater Shantar Island with its distribution range comprising the eastern coast of Siberia and Japan.{{cite journal|last1=Baryshnikov|first1=Gennady|last2=Mano|first2=Tsutmano|last3=Masuda|first3=Ryuchi|title=Taxonomic Differentiation of Ursus arctos (Carnivora, Ursidae) from the south Okhotsk Sea Islands|journal=Russian Journal of Theriology|date=2004|volume=3|issue=#2|pages=77–88|doi=10.15298/rusjtheriol.03.2.05|doi-access=free}}

Ursus arctos collaris – East Siberian brown bear

|140 px

| A majority of Siberia from the Yenisei River to as far south as the Altai Mountains in northern Mongolia, northernmost Xinjiang and northeastern Kazakhstan. Ranges as far north as the southwestern Taymyr Peninsula and the Anabar River. As the farthest east ranging of all Old World brown bear populations, it is found in Chukotka as far as the coast of the Bering Strait to the east and the coast of the Chukchi Sea in the north.

| Most bears of this type are fairly dark, but some are as pale as grizzly bears. It is intermediate in size between U. a. arctos and U. a. beringianus, with a proportionately larger skull than the nominate subspecies. In the sub-Arctic region of Yakutia, bears are reportedly quite small compared to other regions.{{cite journal|author=Akhremenko, A. K., & Sedalishchev, V. T. |title=Specific ecological features of the brown bear (Ursus arctos L. 1758) in Yakutia|journal=Russian Journal of Ecology|volume=39|issue=#3|page=188|doi=10.1134/S1067413608030065|year=2008|bibcode=2008RuJEc..39..188A |s2cid=34174294}}

Ursus arctos gobiensis – Gobi bear

| 140px

| the Gobi Desert, Mongolia

| An extremely rare bear found in the Gobi Desert, this bear is adapted to desert life, dwelling in oases and rocky outcrops. It is rather small and pale and it appears to lack the whitish collar characteristic of Tibetan blue bears.{{cite journal | author = Sokolov V., Orlov V. | year = 1992 | title = A new species of bear—Ursus gobiensis sp. n.—mazaaly or Gobi bear | journal = Berlin Symposium on Mongolian Biological Resources | volume = 24 | page = 133 }}Balint, P. J., & Steinberg, J. A. (2003). "Conservation case study of the Gobi bear", pp. 238–257 in Mongolia Today: Science, Culture, Environment, and Development. Psychology Press. {{ISBN|0700715983}}. Phylogenetic analysis suggests they represent a relict population of the Himalayan brown bear.{{cite journal | author = Galbreath G., Groves C., Waits L. | year = 2007 | title = Genetic resolution of composition and phylogenetic placement of the isabelline bear | journal = Ursus | volume = 17 | pages = 129–131 | doi=10.2192/1537-6176(2007)18[129:GROCAP]2.0.CO;2| s2cid = 26729708 }}{{cite journal | author = Lan T., Gill S., Bellemain E., Bischof R., Zawaz M.A., Lindqvist C. | year = 2017 | title = Evolutionary history of enigmatic bears in the Tibetan Plateau–Himalaya region and the identity of the yeti | journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences | volume = 284 | issue = #1,868| page = 20171804 | doi=10.1098/rspb.2017.1804| pmid = 29187630 | pmc = 5740279 }} At one time, Gobi bears probably overlapped and possibly interbred with Tibetan blue bears in western China, but the bears are now extinct in this area.{{cite journal |author1=McCarthy T. M. |author2=Waits L. P. |author3=Mijiddorj B. |year=2009 |title=Status of the Gobi bear in Mongolia as determined by noninvasive genetic methods | journal=Ursus |volume=20 |issue=#1 |pages=30–38 |doi=10.2192/07gr013r.1|s2cid=86288105 }}

Ursus arctos isabellinus – Himalayan brown bear or red bear, isabelline bear

|140 px

| northern Nepal, North India and Northern Pakistan, most continuous current range in Jammu and Kashmir

| Quite distinctive physically, as it possess a reddish-brown or sandy-brown coat color with silver-tipped hairs and relatively large ears. This bear is smaller than most other brown bears found on the Asian continent. Prefers high altitude forests and alpine meadows. Critically Endangered.

Ursus arctos lasiotus – Ussuri brown bear or Amur brown bear, Ezo brown bear, Manchurian grizzly bear, black grizzly bear

|140 px

| Russia: the southern Kuril Islands, Sakhalin, the Maritime Territory and the Ussuri/Amur River region south of the Stanovoy Range, China (in the former Manchuria): Heilongjiang, Japan: Hokkaidō, Honshu (in the last glacial period), and the Korean Peninsula: North Korea. Became extinct on Rebun and Rishiri Islands in the 13th century AD.『野生動物調査痕跡学図鑑』 p.356

| Ursus arctos lasiotus is quite variable in size. Skull dimensions from mainland Russia (i.e. the Primorsky and the Khabarovsk) indicate they can rival Kamchatkan brown bears in size. By contrast, the population found in Hokkaido is one of the smallest northern forms of the brown bear. Nonetheless, individuals from Hokkaido can reportedly get larger than expected and have reached {{convert|400|to|550|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.[http://biggame.iza-yoi.net/bear/brown2.html Kamchatkan Bear]. iza-yoi.net in weight by feeding on cultivations.[http://www.news24.jp/articles/2015/10/12/07312030.html 体重400キロのヒグマ捕獲なぜ巨大化？] news24.jp (12 October 2015)[http://www.news24.jp/articles/2015/10/12/07312030.html 体重400キロのヒグマ捕獲なぜ巨大化？{{pipe}}日テレNEWS24]. News24.jp (2015-10-12). Retrieved on 2016-12-12. This bear is thought to be the ancestor of U. a. horribilis. It is perhaps the darkest-colored population on average and some specimens are almost fully black in colour, although lighter brown and intermediate forms are known. Due to its coloring, this subspecies is sometimes informally referred to as the "black grizzly bear".

Ursus arctos marsicanus – Marsican brown bear or Apennine brown bear{{cite journal |last=Ciucci |first=Paolo |title=Seasonal and annual variation in the food habits of Apennine brown bears, central Italy |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |year=2014 |volume=95 |issue=3|pages=572–586 |doi=10.1644/13-mamm-a-218|doi-access=free }}

| 140px

| Marsica, central Italy

| There are an estimated 40 to 50 bears remaining in the Marsican area. This is an unrecognized subspecies that is now considered to be a population of the nominate subspecies U. a. arctos.

Ursus arctos pruinosus – Tibetan blue bear or horse bear

|140 px

| the Tibetan Plateau; some of the bears found in the Himalayas are reportedly actually wandering individuals from the more robustly populated Tibetan subspecies{{cite journal|doi=10.3390/d4030301|title=Conservation Strategy for Brown Bear and Its Habitat in Nepal|journal=Diversity|volume=4|issue=#4|page=301|year=2012|last1=Aryal|first1=Achyut|last2=Raubenheimer|first2=David|last3=Sathyakumar|first3=Sambandam|last4=Poudel|first4=Buddi Sagar|last5=Ji|first5=Weihong|last6=Kunwar|first6=Kamal Jung|last7=Kok|first7=Jose|last8=Kohshima|first8=Shiro|last9=Brunton|first9=Dianne|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233903308|doi-access=free}}

| This is a moderately-sized subspecies with long, shaggy fur. Both dark-colored and light-colored variants are encountered, with intermediate colors predominating. The fur around the neck, chest and shoulders is yellowish-brown or whitish and frequently forms a collar, which no other brown bear subspecies typically possesses in a mature state. Like the Himalayan brown bear, the ears are relatively prominent. The skull is distinguished by its relatively flattened choanae, an arch-like curve of the molar row and large teeth, probably in correlation to its particularly carnivorous habits.

Ursus arctos pyrenaicus – Cantabrian brown bear or Iberian brown bear

| 140 px

| The Iberian Peninsula, primarily the Cantabrian Mountains and the hills in Galicia, and the Pyrenees.{{cite web | url = http://revista.consumer.es/web/ca/20050901/medioambiente/69893.php | title = La recuperació del rei dels boscos | date = 22 June 2021 }} Rare, sporadic sightings in northern Portugal.{{Cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20190509-first-brown-bear-sighting-portugal-over-century|title=First brown bear sighting in Portugal in over a century|date=9 May 2019|website=France 24}}

| Until recently, this brown bear population was considered a separate subspecies. Today, it is considered to belong to the nominate subspecies U. a. arctos. Scientific evidence based on DNA studies would furthermore indicate the Eurasian brown bear can be divided into two distinct lineages. "There is a clear division into two main mitochondrial lineages in modern Eurasian brown bear populations. These populations are divided into those carrying an eastern lineage (clade IIIa, Leonard et al. 2000), which is composed of Russian, northern Scandinavian and eastern European populations, and those carrying a western lineage (clade I, Leonard et al. 2000), which is composed of two subgroups, one believed to originate from the Iberian Peninsula, including southern Scandinavian bears and the Pyrenean populations; and the other from the Italian–Balkan peninsulas (Taberlet et al. 1994; see however Kohn et al. 1995). In addition, based on the subfossil record in northwestern Moldova and mitochondrial DNA data from modern populations, a Carpathian refuge has also been proposed (Sommer & Benecke 2005; Saarma et al. 2007)."{{Cite journal |last1=Valdiosera |first1=C. E. |last2=García |first2=N. |last3=Anderung |first3=C. |last4=Dalén |first4=L. |last5=Crégut-Bonnoure |first5=E. |last6=Kahlke |first6=R. D. |last7=Stiller |first7=M. |last8=Brandström |first8=M. |last9=Thomas |first9=M. G. |doi=10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03590.x |title=Staying out in the cold: Glacial refugia and mitochondrial DNA phylogeography in ancient European brown bears |journal=Molecular Ecology |volume=16 |issue=#24 |pages=5140–5148 |year=2007 |pmid=18031475 |bibcode=2007MolEc..16.5140V |s2cid=18688969 |url=http://eprints.ucm.es/27907/1/27872104-1.pdf |access-date=2019-11-19 |archive-date=2018-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113071012/http://eprints.ucm.es/27907/1/27872104-1.pdf |url-status=dead }}

The Cantabrian brown bear is the largest wild animal on the Iberian Peninsula, although it is also one of the smallest of the brown bears, weighing between {{convert|92|and|180|kg|lb|abbr=on}} as an adult.{{cite journal|author=Zedrosser, A., Steyaert, S. M., Gossow, H., & Swenson, J. E.|title=Brown bear conservation and the ghost of persecution past|journal=Biological Conservation|volume=144|issue=#9|page=2163|doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2011.05.005|url=http://bearproject.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2011-A118-Zedrosser-Ghost-persecution-past-Biol-Conserv-1.pdf|year=2011|bibcode=2011BCons.144.2163Z |access-date=2019-11-19|archive-date=2018-11-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113071016/http://bearproject.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2011-A118-Zedrosser-Ghost-persecution-past-Biol-Conserv-1.pdf|url-status=dead}} Its fur varies from pale cream to dark brown, but always with a distinctively darker, nearly black tone at the paws and a yellowish tinge at the tip of each hair. The Cantabrian brown bear population in Spain is considered endangered. The bear population in the Pyrenees stems mostly from bears reintroduced from Slovenia, with one or two remaining original males.[https://web.archive.org/web/20100213064125/http://www.fundacionosopardo.org/ficha.cfm?idArticulo=151 Cuántos osos hay y dónde viven]. Fundación Oso Pardo – distribution maps and population from 2008 (in Spanish)[http://www.depana.org/public/Informaci%C3%B3_ampliada/%C3%93s_bru_del_Pirineu/%C3%93s_bru_al_m%C3%B3n_i_Europa/%20 DEPANA] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725230248/http://www.depana.org/public/Informaci%C3%B3_ampliada/%C3%93s_bru_del_Pirineu/%C3%93s_bru_al_m%C3%B3n_i_Europa/%20 |date=25 July 2011 }} – detailed distribution maps and census information from 2009 (in Catalan).[http://www.picos-accommodation.co.uk/TheCantabrianbrownbearUrsusarctosarctos.htm The Cantabrian Brown Bear Ursus arctos arctos] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322090555/http://www.picos-accommodation.co.uk/TheCantabrianbrownbearUrsusarctosarctos.htm |date=22 March 2012 }}. picos-accommodation.co.uk.

Ursus arctos syriacus – Syrian brown bear

|140 px

| Transcaucasia, Iraq, Turkey (Asia Minor), Iran, western Afghanistan, eastern Lebanon, Pakistan, western Himalayas and the Pamir-Alay and Tian Shan Mountains. Despite a historical presence in Israel and the Syrian Arab Republic (the latter is the subspecies' namesake), it is believed to be extinct in these countries now.{{cite iucn |author=McLellan, B.N. |author2=Proctor, M.F. |author3=Huber, D. |author4=Michel, S. |name-list-style=amp |title=Ursus arctos |journal=The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species |volume=2017 |page= e.T41688A121229971 |publisher=IUCN |date=2017 |url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41688/121229971 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T41688A121229971.en}}

| The Syrian brown bear is a moderate- to small-sized subspecies with light claws. This population tends to be a whitish-blond color, with less noticeable black-based hairs than grizzly bears have.

†Ursus arctos crowtheri – Atlas bear or North African brown bear, Crowther's bear (extinct)

| 140px

| The Atlas Mountains and adjacent areas in North Africa, from Morocco to Libya.

| The Atlas bear was the only bear species ever to be native to Africa. The last surviving Atlas bear is thought to have been killed by hunters in 1890."Bear Anatomy and Physiology" from Gary Brown's The Great Bear Almanac, Lyons & Burford, Publishers, 1993Bryden, H. A. (ed.) (1899). [https://archive.org/stream/greatsmallgameof00majo#page/544/mode/2up Great and small game of Africa] Rowland Ward Ltd., London. Pp. 607–608.

†Ursus arctos priscus – Steppe brown bear (extinct)

|140px

| Eurasia

| The steppe brown bear was an extinct prehistoric brown bear subspecies that lived in places like Slovakia. It was more carnivorous than most bears today.Villalba de Alvarado, M., Collado Giraldo, H., Arsuaga, J. L., Bello Rodrigo, J. R., Heteren, A. H., & Gómez-Olivencia, A. (2021). Looking for the earliest evidence of Ursus arctos LINNAEUS, 1758 in the Iberian Peninsula: the Middle Pleistocene site of Postes cave. Boreas, 51(1), 159–184. https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12537Pacher, M. (2007). The type specimen of Ursus priscus Goldfuss, 1810 and the uncertain status of Late Pleistocene brown bears. Neues Jahrbuch f€ur Geologie und Pal€aontologie, Abhandlungen 245, 331–339.

=North America=

class="wikitable"

|+ style="text-align: centre;" | Nearctic realm (North America)

!Subspecies/population !! Image !! Distribution!! Description/comments

Ursus arctos horribilis – Grizzly bear or North American brown bear

|140 px

| most of Alaska, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, western Alberta, northern Idaho, western Montana, and northwestern Wyoming

| The grizzly bear is identified by a medium to dark brown coat with gray or blond "grizzled" tips on the fur, which contrast with the black base. Highly variable in size, based largely on environmental conditions.{{cite journal|author=Rausch, R. L. |title=Geographic variation in size in North American brown bears, Ursus arctos L., as indicated by condylobasal length|journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology|volume=41|page=33|doi=10.1139/z63-005|year=1963}} It is also highly adaptable: it can live in montane pine forests, temperate rainforest, semi-arid scrubland, tundra and shortgrass prairie.{{cite journal |author1=Boyce, M. S. |author2=McDonald, L. L. |title=Relating populations to habitats using resource selection functions |journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution |volume=14 |issue=#7 |doi=10.1016/S0169-5347(99)01593-1 |year=1999|pages=268–272 |pmid=10370262 }}

†Ursus arctos californicus – California grizzly bear or California golden bear (extinct)

|140 px

| California, mainly in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and some areas of coastal California

| The last known California grizzly bear was shot in California in 1922. Museum specimens illustrate that this population was golden-blond overall, typically without the contrasting black fur base of true grizzly bears. It also appeared to have been considerably larger, with a broader muzzle than true grizzly bears.{{cite journal|last1=Miller|first1=CR|last2=Waits|first2=L.P.|title=Phylogeography and mitochondrial diversity of extirpated brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations in the contiguous United States and Mexico|journal=Mol. Ecol.|date=2006|volume=15|issue=#14|pages=4477–85|doi=10.1111/j.1365-294x.2006.03097.x|pmid=17107477|bibcode=2006MolEc..15.4477M |s2cid=7336900}}

| Ursus arctos dalli – Dall Island brown bear

| Dall Island, Alaska

| Poorly described; possibly merely a coastal variation of other North American brown bears, but any such alliance is genetically ambiguous.{{cite journal|author=Talbot, S. L., & Shields, G. F. |title=Phylogeography of brown bears (Ursus arctos) of Alaska and paraphyly within the Ursidae|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=5|issue=#3|pages=477–94|pmid=8744762|year=1996|doi=10.1006/mpev.1996.0044}}{{cite book|doi=10.5962/bhl.title.4054|author=Hall, E. R. |year=1984|title=Geographic variation among brown and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in North America|series=Special publication (University of Kansas. Museum of Natural History); no. 13.|url=https://archive.org/details/geographicvariat00hall }}

Ursus arctos gyas – Alaska Peninsula brown bear or peninsular giant bear

| 140 px

| coastal Alaska from the Aleutian Islands as far west as Unimak, the Alaska Peninsula to the Kenai Peninsula

| Considered by some biologists to be the same subspecies as U. a. middendorffi.Burt. Henry W. (1952) A Field Guide to the Mammals, p. 42. Based on the known size of adult males, if it is a true subspecies, it may match or exceed the Kodiak bear in size.Baryshnikov, G. F. (2007). Fauna of Russia and neighbouring countries. Mammals. Ursidae.Miller, S., & Sellers, R. A. (1992). Brown bear density on the Alaska Peninsula at Black Lake, Alaska. State of Alaska, Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation.

Ursus arctos middendorffi – Kodiak bear

|140 px

| Kodiak, Afognak and Shuyak Islands (Alaska); arguably includes other coastal Alaskan forms which occur in most of the coasts of the western and southern parts of the state

| This is the largest distinct subspecies of the brown bear, though the coastal-living members of other brown bear subspecies potentially rival it in size. It is medium-hued, typically not as dark as most forms from eastern Asia, but distinctly darker than grizzly bears.

Ursus arctos nelsoni – †Mexican grizzly bear, Mexican grey or silver bear; oso plateado in Spanish, pasini in Opata (extinct)

|140 px

| The smallest North American subspecies; formerly from northern Mexico, including Chihuahua, Coahuila and Sonora, and the southwestern United States, including the southern regions of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas

| This bear is believed to have been hunted to extinction due to its interference with cattle ranching in both the United States and Mexico. Scarce by the 1930s, the last recorded sighting was in 1962.{{cite journal|last1=Gallo-Reynoso|first1=Juan-Pablo|title=Gallo-Reynoso, Juan-Pablo, et al. "Probable occurrence of a brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Sonora, Mexico, in 1976.|journal=The Southwestern Naturalist|date=2008|volume=53|issue=#2|pages=256–260|url=http://wildsonora.com/sites/default/files/reports/probable-occurrence-of-a-brown-bear-ursus-arctos-in-sonora-mexico-in-1976.pdf|doi=10.1894/0038-4909(2008)53[256:pooabb]2.0.co;2|s2cid=85724524 }} Distinct in its ability to survive arid conditions, it could live in both montane pine forests of Mexico and canyon lands adjacent to the Sonoran Desert. Because of its characteristic fur color, it was often referred to as silver bear or oso plateado in Spanish.

Ursus arctos sitkensis – ABC Islands bear or Sitka brown bear, Sitka bear

|140 px

| Admiralty Island, Baranof Island and Chichagof Island, the "ABC Islands" of Alaska

| Appearing to be more closely related to the polar bear than to other brown bears, although it is on average the most dark-colored population in North America, with similar body size to grizzly bears from interior Alaska.{{cite journal | author = Waits, L.P. | year = 1998 | title = Mitochondrial DNA Phylogeography of the North American Brown Bear and Implications for Conservation | journal = Conservation Biology | volume = 12 | issue = #2 | pages = 408–417 | doi = 10.1111/j.1523-1739.1998.96351.x| bibcode = 1998ConBi..12..408W | s2cid = 86172292 |display-authors=etal}} This subspecies is called "clade II" by Waits and others and is part of the former subspecies identified as U. a. sitkensis by Hall and as U. a. dalli by Kurtén.

Ursus arctos stikeenensis – Stickeen brown bear or Stikine brown bear

|140px

| northwestern British Columbia{{cite web|author=Bear Conservation UK |title=Stickeen Brown Bear |url=http://www.fourdirections.webspace.virginmedia.com/page116.html|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314085221/http://www.fourdirections.webspace.virginmedia.com/page116.html |archive-date=14 March 2014 |df=dmy }} from the Stikine River to the Skeena River[http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/0MCarnivor/ursidae/ursus/Ursus_arctos/19Ursus_arctosSpecVar.htm SPECIES VARIATION with literature reports for the Brown bear – Ursus arctos] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022075837/http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/0MCarnivor/ursidae/ursus/Ursus_arctos/19Ursus_arctosSpecVar.htm |date=2018-10-22 }}. twycrosszoo.org

| Variously recognized as a distinct subspecies or as belonging to the subspecies U. a. horribilis. Larger than most other grizzly bear populations, with males approaching the great bears of coastal Alaska in size.Lloyd, K. A. (1979). [https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0075117 Aspects of the ecology of black and grizzly bears in coastal British Columbia]. Doctoral dissertation, University of British Columbia.Bunnell, F. L., & Tait, D. E. N. (1981). "Population dynamics of bears—implications", pp. 75–98 in Dynamics of large mammal populations. John Wiley and Sons, New York, New York, USA. {{ISBN|0471051608}}.

Ecotypes or regional populations

Brown bear size, most often measured in body mass, is highly variable and is correlated to extent of food access. Therefore, bears whose range in areas with access to openings, cover, and moisture or water are on average larger, whereas those bears that range into enclosed forested areas or arid, sparsely vegetated regions, both of which tend to be suboptimal foraging habitat for brown bears, average smaller.{{cite web |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-439-01-0001.pdf |date=23 April 1993 |title=Mammalian Species- Ursus arctos |publisher=American Society of Mammalogists, Smith College |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331110208/http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-439-01-0001.pdf |archive-date=2017-03-31}}{{cite book|last1=Feldhamer |first1=G. A. |last2=Thompson |first2=B. C. |last3=Chapman |first3=J. A. |year=2003 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-xQalfqP7BcC&pg=PP1 |title=Wild mammals of North America: biology, management, and conservation |publisher=JHU Press|isbn=9780801874161 }}{{cite journal |last1=Hilderbrand |first1=G. V. |last2=Schwartz |first2=C. C. |last3=Robbins |first3=C. T. |last4=Jacoby |first4=M. E. |last5=Hanley |first5=T. A. |last6=Arthur |first6=S. M. |last7=Servheen |first7=C. |title=The importance of meat, particularly salmon, to body size, population productivity, and conservation of North American brown bears |journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |volume=77 |page=132 |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ef9b/3a38a78d79d2a98809506f7b0abcdadf16c4.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221060832/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ef9b/3a38a78d79d2a98809506f7b0abcdadf16c4.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2016-12-21 |doi=10.1139/z98-195 |year=1999|s2cid=18290659 }} The brown bear in northern Europe (i.e., Scandinavia, eastern Europe, western Russia), Yellowstone National Park or interior Alaska seasonally weigh on average between {{convert|115|and|360|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, from mean low adult female weights in spring to male bear mean high weights in fall. Brown bears from the Yukon Delta, interior British Columbia, Jasper National Park and southern Europe (i.e., Spain, the Balkans) can weigh from {{convert|55|to|175|kg|lb|abbr=on}} on average.{{cite journal|doi=10.1007/s00442-007-0715-1|pmid=17415593|title=Brown bear body mass and growth in northern and southern Europe|journal=Oecologia|volume=153|issue=#1|pages=37–47|year=2007|last1=Swenson|first1=Jon E.|last2=Adamič|first2=Miha|last3=Huber|first3=Djuro|last4=Stokke|first4=Sigbjørn|url=http://bearproject.info/old/uploads/publications/2007%20Swenson%20et%20al%20Oecologia.pdf|bibcode=2007Oecol.153...37S|s2cid=5836340|access-date=2019-11-19|archive-date=2022-10-09|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://bearproject.info/old/uploads/publications/2007%20Swenson%20et%20al%20Oecologia.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Brown Grizzly or Brown Bear (Ursus arctos)|url=http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/ursuarct.htm|publisher=Mammals of Texas- Online Edition }}{{cite journal |last1=Kaczensky |first1=P. |last2=Blazic |first2=M. |last3=Gossow |first3=H. |title=Public attitudes towards brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Slovenia |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=118 |issue=5 |page=661 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2003.10.015 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223401483 |year=2004|bibcode=2004BCons.118..661K }}{{cite journal |last1=Kanellopoulos |first1=N. |last2=Mertzanis |first2=G. |last3=Korakis |first3=G. |last4=Panagiotopoulou |first4=M. |year=2006 |title=Selective habitat use by brown bear (Ursus arctos L.) in northern Pindos, Greece |url=http://www.callisto.gr/docs/JBR_Kanellopoulos_Mertzanis_reprint.pdf |journal=Journal of Biological Research |volume=5 |pages=23–33 |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304214945/http://www.callisto.gr/docs/JBR_Kanellopoulos_Mertzanis_reprint.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}} These mass variations represent only two widespread subspecies, the grizzly bear in North America and the Eurasian brown bear in Europe. Due to the lack of genetic variation within subspecies, the environmental conditions in a given area likely plays the largest part in such weight variations.

The grizzly is especially variable in size, as grizzlies from the largest populations, i.e., interior Alaska, with the heaviest weights recorded in Nelchina, Alaska, nearly three times heavier in males than the smallest grizzlies from Alberta, Canada's Jasper National Park. Between the sexes, the grizzlies of Nelchina average around {{convert|207|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, whereas the Jasper grizzlies averaged about {{convert|74|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. The enclosed taiga habitat of Jasper presumably is sub-optimal foraging habitat for grizzlies, requiring them to range widely and feed sparsely, thus reducing body weights and putting bears at risk of starvation, while in surfaces areas in the tundra and prairie are apparently ideal for feeding.{{cite journal |last1=Jacoby |first1=M. E. |last2=Hilderbrand |first2=G. V. |last3=Servheen |first3=C. |last4=Schwartz |first4=C. C. |last5=Arthur |first5=S. M. |last6=Hanley |first6=T. A. |last7=Robbins |first7=C. T. |last8=Michener |first8=R. |title=Trophic relations of brown and black bears in several western North American ecosystems |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=63 |issue=#3 |pages=921–929 |doi=10.2307/3802806 |jstor=3802806 |year=1999}} Even elsewhere in Alberta, weights averaging more than twice those of Jasper grizzlies have been recorded.Mundy, K. R. D., & Flook, D. R. (1973). [http://parkscanadahistory.com/wildlife/report-22.pdf Background for managing grizzly bears in the national parks of Canada]. Information Canada. p. 34 A gradual diminishment in body size is noted in grizzly bears from the sub-Arctic zone, from the Brooks Range to the Mackenzie Mountains, presumably because food becomes much sparser in such regions, although perhaps the most northerly recorded grizzly bears ever, in the Northwest Territories, was a large and healthy male weighing {{convert|320|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, more than twice as much as an average male weighs near the Arctic Circle.{{cite journal|author=Doupé, J. P., England, J. H., Furze, M., & Paetkau, D.|year=2007|title=Most northerly observation of a grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) in Canada: photographic and DNA evidence from Melville Island, Northwest Territories|journal=Arctic|pages=271–276|jstor=40512895|doi=10.14430/arctic219|url=http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic60-3-271.pdf|volume=60|issue=#3|access-date=2019-11-19|archive-date=2015-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150917082847/http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic60-3-271.pdf|url-status=dead}} Data from Eurasia similarly indicates a diminished body mass in sub-Arctic brown bears, based on the weights of bears from northern Finland and Yakutia.{{cite journal|author=Pulliainen, E. |year=1972|title=Distribution and population structure of the bear (Ursus arctos L.) in Finland|journal=Annales Zoologici Fennici |pages=199–207|jstor=23731680|volume=9|issue=#4}}{{cite journal|author=Kojola, I., & Laitala, H. M. |year=2001|title=Body size variation of brown bear in Finland|journal=Annales Zoologici Fennici |pages=173–178|jstor=23735763|volume=38|issue=#2}}

Head-and-body length in grizzly bears averages from {{convert|1.8|to|2.13|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} while in Eurasian brown bears it similarly averages from {{convert|1.7|to|2.1|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}}.Whitaker, J. O., & Elman, R. (1996). National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals (p. 992). New York: Knopf.Mallinson, J. (1978). The Shadow of Extinction: Europe's Threatened Mammals. Macmillan, London. Adult shoulder height averaged {{convert|95.2|cm|ftin|0|abbr=on}} in Yellowstone (for any bear measured five or more years old) and a median of {{convert|98.5|cm|ftin|0|abbr=on}} (for adults only 10 or more years old) in Slovakia.Rigg, R., & Adamec, M. (2007). [http://www.selmy.cz/data/publications/26.pdf "Status, ecology and management of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Slovakia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807233201/https://www.selmy.cz/data/publications/26.pdf |date=2019-08-07 }}. Slovak Wildlife Society, Liptovský Hrádok.{{cite journal|author=Blanchard, B. M.|url=http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_7/Blanchard_Vol_7.pdf|year=1987|title=Size and growth patterns of the Yellowstone grizzly bear|journal=Bears: Their Biology and Management|volume=7|pages=99–107|doi=10.2307/3872615|jstor=3872615|access-date=2019-11-19|archive-date=2016-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021010320/http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_7/Blanchard_Vol_7.pdf|url-status=dead}} Standing on its hindlegs, a posture only assumed occasionally, typically sized brown bears can reportedly range from {{convert|1.83|to|2.75|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} in standing height.{{cite journal|author=Tough, S. C., & Butt, J. C. |title=A review of fatal bear maulings in Alberta, Canada|journal=The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology|volume=14|issue=#1|pages=22–7|pmid=8493963|year=1993|doi=10.1097/00000433-199303000-00005|s2cid=20439076}} Exceptionally large inland specimens have been reported in several parts of North America, Europe, Russia and even Hokkaido. The largest recorded grizzlies from Yellowstone and Washington both weighed approximately {{convert|500|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and Eastern European bears have been weighed in Slovakia and Bulgaria of up to {{convert|400|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, about double the average weight for male bears in these regions.{{cite journal |last1=Zedrosser |first1=A. |last2=Dahle |first2=B. |last3=Swenson |first3=J. E. |last4=Gerstl |first4=N. |year=2001 |title=Status and management of the brown bear in Europe |url=http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_12/Zedrossser_Dahle_Vol_12.pdf |journal=Ursus |pages=9–20 |volume=12 |access-date=2019-11-19 |archive-date=2022-10-09 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_12/Zedrossser_Dahle_Vol_12.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{cite book | author = Wood, Gerald | title = The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats | year = 1983 | publisher = Guinness Superlatives | isbn = 978-0-85112-235-9 | url = https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofan00wood }} Among the grizzly and Eurasian brown bear subspecies, the largest reportedly shot from each being {{convert|680|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and {{convert|481|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, respectively. The latter bear, from Western Russia, reportedly measured just under {{convert|2.5|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} in head-and-body length.

File:昭和新山熊牧場5.jpg of Hokkaido, a relatively small-bodied population, in the snow]]

In Eurasia, the size of bears roughly increases from the west to the east, with the largest bears there native to Eastern Russia.Vereschagin, N. K. (1976). "The brown bear in Eurasia, particularly the Soviet Union", in Bears: Their Biology and Management, pp. 327–335. Even in the nominate subspecies, size increases in the eastern limits, with mature male bears in Arkhangelsk Oblast and Bashkortostan commonly exceeding {{convert|300|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.Loskutov, A. V., Pavlov, M. P., & Puchkovsky, S. V. (1993). "Brown bear. Volzhsko-Kamsky region", pp. 91–135 in Vaisfeld and Chestin.Vaisfeld, M. A. (1993). "The north-east of European Russia", pp. 37–51 in Vaisfeld and Chestin. Other bears of intermediate size may occur in inland populations of Russia. Much like the grizzly bear and Eurasian brown bear, populations of the Ussuri brown bear (U. a. lasiotus) and the East Siberian brown bear (U. a. collaris) may vary widely in size. In some cases, the big adult males of these populations may have matched the Kodiak bear in size. East Siberian brown bears from outside the sub-Arctic and mainland Ussuri brown bears average about the same size as the largest-bodied populations of grizzly bears, i.e., those of similar latitude in Alaska, and have been credited with weights ranging from {{convert|100|to|400|kg|lb|abbr=on}} throughout the seasons.Stroganov, S. U. (1969). Carnivorous mammals of Siberia. Jerusalem, Israel: Israel Program for Scientific Translations. p. 522. {{ISBN|0706506456}} On the other hand, the Ussuri brown bears found in the insular population of Hokkaido are usually quite small, usually weighing less than {{convert|150|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, exactly half the weight reported for male Ussuri brown bears from Khabarovsk Krai. This is due presumably to the enclosed mixed forest habitat of Hokkaido.{{cite journal|author1=Mano, T. |author2=Tsubota, T. |year=2002|title=Reproductive characteristics of brown bears on the Oshima peninsula, Hokkaido, Japan|jstor=1383508|doi=10.1644/1545-1542(2002)083<1026:RCOBBO>2.0.CO;2|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume= 83|issue=#4|pages=1026–1034|doi-access=free}}Yudin, V.G. (1993). "The Brown Bear" in Vaisfeld and Chestin A similarly diminished size has been reported in East Siberian brown bears from Yakutia, as even adult males average around {{convert|145|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, thus about 40% less than the average weight of male bears of this subtype from central Siberia and the Chukchi Peninsula.

In linear measurements and mean body mass, several subspecies may vie for the title of smallest subtype, although thus far, their reported body masses broadly overlaps with those of the smaller-bodied populations of Eurasian brown bears and grizzly bears. Leopold (1959) described the now-extinct Mexican grizzly bear (U. a. nelsoni) that, according to Rausch (1963), as the smallest subtype of grizzly bear in North America, although the exact parameters of its body size are not known today.{{cite book |last1=Storer |first1=T.I. |last2=Tevis |first2=L.P. |title=California Grizzly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1QVZFQu01KcC&pg=PA149 |url-access=registration |year=1996 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, CA |isbn=978-0-520-20520-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/californiagrizzl00stor/page/335 335], 42–187}} [https://archive.org/details/californiagrizzl00stor Alt URL] Bears of the Syrian subspecies (U. a. syriacus) will reportedly weigh around {{convert|100|to|160|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in adulthood.Hamdinea, W., Thévenotb, M., & Michauxc, J. (1998). Recent history of the brown bear in the Maghreb. The Himalayan brown bear (U. a. isabellinus) is another rival for the smallest subspecies; in Pakistan, this subtype averages about {{convert|70|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in females and {{convert|135|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in males.{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2008.06.012|title=Pragmatic management increases a flagship species, the Himalayan brown bears, in Pakistan's Deosai National Park|journal=Biological Conservation|volume=141|issue=#9|page=2230|year=2008|last1=Nawaz|first1=Muhammad Ali|last2=Swenson|first2=Jon E.|last3=Zakaria|first3=Vaqar|bibcode=2008BCons.141.2230N }} Himalayan brown bear females were cited with an average head-and-body length of merely {{convert|1.4|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}}.Prater, S. H., & Barruel, P. (1971). The book of Indian animals (Vol. 3). Bombay: Bombay Natural History Society. Brown bears of the compact Gobi Desert population, which is not usually listed as a distinct subspecies in recent decades, weigh around {{convert|90|to|138|kg|lb|abbr=on}} between the sexes, so they are similar in weight to bears from the Himalayas and even heavier than grizzlies from Jasper National Park. However, the Gobi bear has been reported to measure as small as {{convert|1|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} in head-and-body length, which, if accurate, would make them the smallest known brown bear in linear dimensions. These smallest brown bear subtypes are characteristically found in "barren-ground" type habitats, i.e., sub-desert in bears of the Syrian subspecies and the Gobi subtype and arid alpine meadow in Himalayan brown bears.

File:Brown Bear us fish.jpgs{{cite book |author=Illiger, J. K. W. |title=Prodromus Systematis Mammalium et Avium |year=1811 |publisher=Sumptibus C. Salfeld |pages=138–39 |url=https://archive.org/stream/caroliilligerida00illi#page/138/mode/2up |language=la}} and polar bears{{cite journal |author=Christiansen, P. |year=1999 |title=What size were Arctodus simus and Ursus spelaeus (Carnivora: Ursidae)? |journal=Annales Zoologici Fennici |pages=93–102 |jstor=23735739 |volume=36 |issue=#2}}{{cite journal |doi=10.1644/1545-1410(2002)696<0001:HM>2.0.CO;2 |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/696_Helarctos_malayanus.pdf |year=2002 |volume=696 |pages=1–5 |title=Helarctos malayanus |journal=Mammalian Species |last1=Fitzgerald |first1=Christopher S. |last2=Krausman |first2=Paul R. |s2cid=198969265 |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304113314/http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/696_Helarctos_malayanus.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }} to be marine mammals, the Kodiak bear is the largest{{cite web |url=https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/education/wns/brown_bear.pdf |publisher=Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation |year=2008 |title=Kodiak Bear Fact Sheet |access-date=2008-10-27}}{{cite web |url=http://www.fws.gov/endangered/factsheets/polar_bear.pdf |title=Polar bear, (Ursus maritimus) |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife service |access-date=22 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080711033807/http://www.fws.gov/endangered/factsheets/polar_bear.pdf |archive-date=11 July 2008 |quote=Appearance. The polar bear is the largest member of the bear family, with the exception of Alaska's Kodiak bear, which equals the polar bear in size. }} ([http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=A0IJ Overview page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217033654/http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=A0IJ |date=17 February 2015 }}) of the living land-based mammalian predators.]]

The largest subspecies are the Kodiak bear (U. a. middendorffi) and the questionably-distinct peninsular giant bear or coastal brown bear (U. a. gyas).{{cite web |url=http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/polar_bear.pdf |title=Polar bear, (Ursus maritimus) |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |quote=Appearance.([https://web.archive.org/web/20081216165727/http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/SpeciesReport.do?spcode=A0IJ Overview page]) |access-date=2019-11-19 |archive-date=2008-07-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080711033807/http://www.fws.gov/endangered/factsheets/polar_bear.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=Kodiak Brown Bear- Kodiak- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |url=http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Kodiak/wildlife_and_habitat/bear.html |publisher=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |access-date=2019-11-19 |archive-date=2015-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418004716/http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Kodiak/wildlife_and_habitat/bear.html |url-status=dead }} Also, the extinct California grizzly bear (U. a. californicus) was rather large.{{cite news|last1=LaFee|first1=Scott|title=Seeds of doubt|url=http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080529/news_1c29bear.html|newspaper=San Diego Union Tribune|date=2008-05-29}} Once mature, the typical female Kodiak bear can range in body mass from {{convert|120|to|318|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and from sexual maturity onward, males range from {{convert|168|to|675|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.Troyer, W.A. & Hensel, R.J. (1969). The Brown Bear of Kodiak Island. Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Report. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Kodiak, Alaska, USA.Henkelmann, A. (2011). [https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/handle/11122/5040?show=full Predictive modeling of Alaskan brown bears (Ursus arctos): assessing future climate impacts with open access online software]. PhD thesis, Lincoln University, New Zealand 21. According to the Guinness Book of World Records the average male Kodiak bear is {{convert|2.44|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} in total length (head-to-tail) and has a shoulder height of {{convert|1.33|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. When averaged between their spring low and fall high weights from both localities, males from Kodiak island and coastal Alaska weighed from {{convert|312|to|389|kg|lb|abbr=on}} with a mean body mass of {{convert|357|kg|lb|abbr=on}} while the same figures in females were {{convert|202|to|256|kg|lb|abbr=on}} with a mean body mass of {{convert|224|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.LeFranc, M.N. (1987). Grizzly bear compendium. Washington, DC, USA: Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee.{{cite journal|author=Miller, S.D., Becker, E.F., Ballard, W.B.|title=Black and Brown Bear Density Estimates Using Modified Capture-Recapture Techniques in Alaska |journal=Bears: Their Biology and Management |year=1987|jstor=3872604|volume=7|pages= 23–35|doi=10.2307/3872604 }}{{cite journal|author=Miller, S.D., Sellers, R.A., Keay, J.A.|year= 2003|title=Effects of hunting on brown bear cub survival and litter size in Alaska|jstor=3873014|journal= Ursus |volume=14|issue= #2|pages= 130–152}} By the time they reach or exceed eight to nine years of age, male Kodiak bears tend to be much larger than newly mature six-year-old males, potentially tripling their average weight within three years' time, and can expect to average between {{convert|360|and|545|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. The reported mean adult body masses for both sexes of the polar bear are very similar to the peninsular giant and Kodiak bears. Due to their roughly corresponding body sizes, the two subtypes and the species can both legitimately be considered the largest living member of the bear family Ursidae and the largest extant terrestrial carnivores.{{cite journal|author=Derocher, A. E., & Wiig, Ø. |title=Postnatal growth in body length and mass of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) at Svalbard|journal=Journal of Zoology|volume=256|issue=#3|page=343|doi=10.1017/S0952836902000377|year=2002}}{{cite journal|author=Durner, G. M., & Amstrup, S. C. |year=1996|title=Mass and body-dimension relationships of polar bears in northern Alaska|journal= Wildlife Society Bulletin|pages= 480–484|jstor=3783330|volume=24|issue=#3}} The largest widely accepted size for a wild Kodiak bear, as well as for a brown bear, was for a bear killed in English Bay on Kodiak Island in fall 1894 as several measurements were made of this bear, including a body mass of {{convert|751|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, and a hind foot and a voucher skull were examined and verified by the Guinness Book of World Records.Carwardine, M. (2008). Animal Records. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. Claims have been made of larger brown bears, but these appear to be poorly documented and unverified and some, even if recited by reputable authors, may be dubious hunters' claims.{{cite book|year=1993|title=Mammals of Europe|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=New Jersey|page=[https://archive.org/details/mammalsofeurope00macd/page/107 107]|isbn=978-0-691-09160-0|author1=Macdonald, D.W.|author2=Barrett, P.|url=https://archive.org/details/mammalsofeurope00macd/page/107}}

The largest variety of brown bear from Eurasia is the Kamchatkan brown bear (U. a. beringianus). In the Kamchatkan brown bears from past decades, old males have been known to reach a body mass of {{convert|500|-|685|kg|lb|abbr=on}} by fall, putting the subtype well within Kodiak bear sizes and leading it to be considered the largest of the extant Russian subtypes. However, a diminishment in body size of U. a. berigianus has been noted, mostly likely in correlation with overhunting.{{cite journal|author=Marciszak, A., Stefaniak, K., Mackiewicz, P., & Ridush, B. |title=Ursus arctos L., 1758 from Bukovynka Cave (W Ukraine) in an overview on the fossil brown bears size variability based on cranial material|journal=Quaternary International|volume=357|page=136|doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2014.09.052|year=2015|bibcode=2015QuInt.357..136M}}{{cite journal|author=Kistchinski, A. A. |title='Life history of the brown bear (Ursus arctos L.) in north-east Siberia|journal=Bears: Their Biology and Management|volume=2|pages=67–73|doi=10.2307/3872570|jstor=3872570|year=1972}}{{cite journal|author=Chestin, I. E., Gubar, Y. P., Sokolov, V. E., & Lobachev, V. S. |year=1992|jstor=23735466|title=The brown bear (Ursus arctos L.) in the USSR: numbers, hunting and systematics|journal= Annales Zoologici Fennici |pages=57–68|url=http://www.sekj.org/PDF/anzf29/anz29-057-068.pdf|volume=29|issue=#2}} In the 1960s and 1970s, most adult Kamchatkan brown bears weighed merely between {{convert|150|and|285|kg|lb|abbr=on}}; however, mean weights of mature male bears have been reported as averaging {{convert|350|to|450|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in 2005.

References

Category:Brown bears

Category:Lists of animals

Ursus arctos

Category:Subspecies