While the brown bear’s range has shrunk and it has faced local extinctions, it remains listed as a least concern species by the IUCN with a total population of approximately 200,000. As of 2012, this and the American black bear are the only bear species not classified as threatened by the IUCN.

The Brown Bear is also known as the Grizzly Bear. It is one of the largest North American land mammals and its home is in cool forests, moist meadows and grasslands in or near mountains. It has enormous shoulder muscles that make it extremely strong and massive paws with long claws. Despite its name, the brown bear is not always brown. Its color can range from white to blonde and from reddish brown to almost black. It can run fast, climb trees and swim well too. Brown bears are normally silent but can grunt, squeal and roar when they need to communicate.

The brown bear is about a foot taller than an average Dad- about 7 feet tall. It is more than two to three times his weight though, since it weighs from 200 to 600 pounds. The brown bear’s diet consists of nuts, berries, fruit, leaves, and roots. Brown bears also eat other animals, from rodents to moose. It loves salmon, and when the salmon are running, large numbers of brown bears will gather in one place to feast on the fish.  In fall a brown bear may eat as much as 90 pounds of food each day, since during winter it goes into hibernation in its den.

Brown bears were once hunted. Another threat to brown bears is the destruction of the forests that are their homes. However, brown bears are not currently endangered.