North America's Bears

There are three species of bears in North America. The most common is the American black bear (Ursus americanus). Unfortunately named, the black bear can be various shades of black, white and brown. This species is found in all provinces and territories in Canada except Prince Edward Island, and in 40 of the 50 contiguous U.S. states. Although the Louisiana black bear subspecies is protected as “threatened” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, there are approximately 900,000 black bears throughout N.A., some subspecies are protected as a "threatened" species, most are not.

It is imperative that people are able to distinguish between the different bear species.The grizzly or brown bear (Ursus arctos), is found in B.C., Alberta, the Yukon and Northwest territories as well as in the states of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington. Coastal versions of this species are often called brown or Kodiak bears, while the smaller inland variety is often called the “grizzly” bear on account of its “grizzled” appearance. All are members of the same species, though some biologists suggest that the brown bears on Kodiak Island have been isolated long enough to be considered a separate subspecies (Ursus arctos middendorffi).


"The less you know about bears, the more likely you are to be afraid of them." - Linda Masterson in Living with Bears (pg 213)



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