Brown Bear, any member of a species of northern bear, the widest ranging of all bear species. Several subspecies range throughout wilderness areas in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Although the name grizzly bear is sometimes used to refer to all brown bears, grizzly actually refers to one subspecies in the northwestern interior of North America . Members of the subspecies that range throughout coastal Alaska and western Canada are known as Alaskan bears; those on Alaska’s Kodiak Archipelago are called Kodiak bears.

Brown bears have large, plantigrade feet (heel and sole touching the ground) and five long claws on their front paws to aid in digging. They may be almost black or very light beige; a few brown bears are pure white. The grizzly bear has deep chocolate brown fur with silver tips. The Kodiak bear is uniformly brown and usually has a ruff of longer hair that makes the head look larger.

Brown bears, along with polar bears, are the largest of the bear species. Brown bears range in weight from 90 to 800 kg (200 to 1760 lb), and adult males generally weigh more than adult females. Kodiak bears, which often feed on salmon, can weigh more than 700 kg (1700 lb). Grizzly bears, with a diet of berries, vegetation, and small mammals, are smaller than Kodiak bears. Depending on habitat, the average weight of grizzlies varies from 150 to 360 kg (330 to 794 lb) in Alaska and British Columbia, 95 to 139 kg (209 to 306 lb) in the Yukon Territory, and 102 to 324 kg (224 to 714 lb) in Yellowstone National Park. (Source -BigGame.ca)