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Grizzly bear

Ursus arctos · also called brown bear and Alaskan brown bear · Last checked November 3, 2026.

A light brown grizzly bear with silver-tipped fur stands in grass and looks toward the camera.
Grizzled brown grizzly standing in meadow, showing shoulder hump and dished face Photo: Romain Boisseau · CC BY-SA 4.0 · iNaturalist · resized

The grizzly bear is North America's brown bear: a large bear with a shoulder hump, a dish-shaped face and long claws, ranging in color from blonde to nearly black. NPS says bears are wild and can be dangerous; attacks are rare but have caused serious injuries and deaths. In the lower 48 states, grizzlies live in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington, where they are a federally threatened species (USFWS). Brown bears also occur throughout most of Alaska. US National Park Service

On this page
  1. Is it dangerous?
  2. How to identify it
  3. Lookalikes
  4. Where it lives
  5. When it is active
  6. Habitat and habits
  7. Legal status and reporting
  8. Questions
  9. Sources

Is the grizzly bear dangerous?

NPS: bears are wild and can be dangerous, and their behavior is sometimes unpredictable. Although rare, attacks on humans have caused serious injuries and death. Most bear encounters end without injury. US National Park Service

“…it is important to remember that bears in national parks are wild and can be dangerous. Their behavior is sometimes unpredictable. Although rare, attacks on humans have occurred, inflicting serious injuries and death. … Most bear encounters end without injury.”

Bites and stings: Attacks are rare but can cause serious injury or death (NPS).

If someone is bitten or stung, call 911 or Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222.

How to identify a grizzly bear

A photo or description can narrow it down, but cannot confirm what an animal is or that it is safe. Look from a distance and do not handle wild animals.

A very fat dark brown bear stands in shallow river water between rocks, its long claws showing.
Large brown bear standing in a river, long curved front claws visible Photo: KatmaiNPS · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
A pale blonde grizzly bear with darker brown legs and face walks through green tundra.
Blonde grizzly walking through tundra grass in Denali Photo: Annika Lindqvist · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
A reddish-brown bear stands in white water at the top of a falls with a salmon in its jaws.
Brown bear catching a salmon at a waterfall Photo: KatmaiNPS · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Size: USFWS: in the lower 48, adult males average 400-600 lb and adult females 250-350 lb. NPS: about 3-5 feet at the shoulder; brown bears overall range from 200 to 1,000 lb. US Fish and Wildlife Service

Colors: Light brown to nearly black; guard hairs usually tipped silver or gold (the 'grizzled' look).

Key features

Young

Cubs are born in the den in January or February and stay with the mother about two years

Animals mistaken for the grizzly bear

Grizzly bear or American black bear?

Grizzly bear

Grizzly bear
Photo: Romain Boisseau · CC BY-SA 4.0 · iNaturalist · resized

American black bear Ursus americanus

American black bear
Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

WDFW: grizzlies have longer, curved claws, humped shoulders and a concave-looking face. ADF&G says color is not a reliable way to tell them apart, since black bears can be brown, reddish, or even grey and white. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

NPS: bears in national parks are wild and can be dangerous (applies to all bears). NPS advice for black bear attacks differs: do not play dead.

Where the grizzly bear lives

Texas: on the state's official listIdaho: on the state's official listMontana: on the state's official listNebraska: on the state's official listWashington: on the state's official listColorado: on the state's official listOklahoma: on the state's official listWyoming: on the state's official listAlaska: on the state's official listNew Mexico: on the state's official listArizona: on the state's official list
Official presence. 11 states where a state list or official source names it. Gray means no official record in our data, not that it is absent.
  • Native or listed
  • Nonnative or not established
  • No official record in our data
Montana: 50 recordsWyoming: 174 recordsAlaska: 603 records
Observation records. Open-licence records on GBIF in 3 states. Records are sightings people shared, not confirmation that a population lives there.
  • 1–9
  • 10–99
  • 100–999
  • 1,000+

On our state guides

State boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file cb_2024_us_state_20m.

When it is active

Hibernates 4-6 months a year in the lower 48, typically entering dens October-December. Males leave dens early March to late April; females mid-March to mid-May, and later with cubs. US Fish and Wildlife Service

US open-licence records peak in June and August to September.

919 US records by month (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY). Shows when people record it, not how many there are.

Habitat and habits

Habitat: Mostly arctic and alpine tundra and subalpine mountain forests; once also prairie, brushlands, riparian woodlands and semi-desert scrub. Most populations need huge areas away from people. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Behavior: Adults are normally solitary but not territorial; home ranges overlap

Diet: Omnivores: plants, berries, fish and small mammals. Yellowstone grizzlies also prey on elk calves and spawning trout and scavenge carcasses.

Young: Mates May through July, peaking mid-June. Cubs are born in the den in late January to early February. One of the slowest reproductive rates among land mammals.

Legal status and reporting

Federal: Threatened in the 48 contiguous states, except where listed as a nonessential experimental population: the Bitterroot area and the North Cascades ecosystem (live USFWS ECOS export 2026-11-03; USFWS species page as captured 2026-10-26). US Fish and Wildlife Service

Protection: USFWS: illegal to harm, harass or kill grizzly bears in the lower 48 except in self-defense or defense of others. WDFW: state endangered in Washington, and killing one can bring extremely costly fines and penalties. US Fish and Wildlife Service

Report: In national parks, report bear incidents and sightings to a park ranger immediately (NPS).

Questions about the grizzly bear

Are there brown bears in california?

No. CDFW says the black bear is the only bear species living in California today; grizzly bears were extirpated, with the last documented sighting in 1924. CDFW notes black bears are sometimes mistaken for brown bears because their fur can be blonde, cinnamon or black.

Are there brown bears in Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin?

USFWS places the lower-48 grizzly (brown) bear populations in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington. None of these states is among them. ADF&G notes that black bears can also be brown, so a brown-colored bear is not necessarily a brown bear.

Sources

  1. Brown Bears - Bears. U.S. National Park Service. April 5, 2022; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (3)
    “Brown bears (Ursus arctos) can be distinguished from American black and polar bears by their distinct shoulder hump, dish-shaped face, and long claws.”
    “Cubs will stay with their mother for about two years learning survival skills.”
    “Brown bears are omnivorous, eating a mixed diet of plants, berries, fish, and small mammals.”
  2. Staying Safe Around Bears. U.S. National Park Service. September 8, 2025; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (1)
    “…it is important to remember that bears in national parks are wild and can be dangerous. Their behavior is sometimes unpredictable. Although rare, attacks on humans have occurred, inflicting serious injuries and death. … Most bear encounters end without injury.”
  3. Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. archived copy, captured October 26, 2026; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (6)
    “Adult males average 400 to 600 pounds (200 to 300 kilograms) and adult females 250 to 350 pounds (110 to 160 kilograms) in the 48 contiguous states.”
    “Adult grizzly bears are normally solitary except when breeding or when females have dependent young, but they are not territorial and home ranges of adult bears frequently overlap.”
    “Grizzly bears in the 48 contiguous states hibernate in dens for four to six months each year, typically entering dens between October and December, with males entering their dens later than females. Females give birth to cubs in the den in late January to early February. On average, males exit dens from early March to late April. Females typically emerge from their dens from mid-March to mid-May, with females with cubs emerging later from mid-April to late-May.”
    “Mating occurs from May through July, with a peak in mid-June.”
    “Grizzly bears in the 48 contiguous states are currently protected as a threatened species.”
    “It is illegal to harm, harass or kill these bears, except in cases of self-defense or the defense of others.”
  4. Brown Bear Species Profile. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
  5. Bears - Glacier National Park. U.S. National Park Service. November 6, 2017; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (1)
    “Their claws are about 4 inches long and slightly curved, making them good for digging.”
  6. Grizzly bear. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (2)
    “Grizzly bears are found mostly in arctic tundra, alpine tundra, and subalpine mountain forests, but once occurred in a wider variety of habitats, including open prairie, brushlands, riparian woodlands, and semi-desert scrub. Most populations require huge areas of habitat remote from most human activity.”
    “Grizzly bears can be distinguished from black bears by longer, curved claws, humped shoulders, and a face that appears concave.”
  7. Human-Wildlife Conflicts: Black Bears. California Department of Fish and Wildlife. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
  8. GBIF.org occurrence records, human observations licensed CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, accessed November 3, 2026. The datasets behind these counts are listed on our Sources page.
  9. State boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file cb_2024_us_state_20m.