The Brown Bear is posed standing on his back legs, its forearms hanging down in front and meeting across its belly. The head, with small rounded ears, small eyes and long muzzle ending in a black nose, is lifted and alert. The body is entirely covered with a thick pelt of short, dark brown fur except for the muzzle where the hair is shorter. The feet are broad and the claws on upper and lower limbs are long, black and curved.
While the Brown Bear is an apex predator capable of killing animals as large as a Moose, much of its diet consists of fruits, roots and leaves. In autumn, it can eat 40 kilograms of food a day, almost doubling its weight to sustain it through the winter hibernation. The Brown Bear uses its long claws and powerful muscles to dig and search for food. Cubs also use their claws to climb trees, but adult bears are too heavy to do so.
All Brown Bears across Europe, Asia and America are considered a single species. In North America, there are three subspecies: the Coastal Brown Bear, the Grizzly Bear whose fur has 'grizzled' pale tips, and the Kodiak Bear.
Did you know bears can stand and even walk on two legs for short distances? Standing allows the bears to sniff the air or listen to sounds. Bears also stand up when fighting or 'showing-off'.