Brown and Grizzly Bears

(Ursus arctos)

from The Bear Den website

Brown Bear or Grizzly?

Both brown and grizzly bears are the same bear, Ursus arctos. There has been a tendency in North America to call the brown bear which lives in the interior, a grizzly, to distinguish it from the brown bears which live in coastal areas. The name "grizzly" comes from the silver tipped grizzled hairs that these brown bears develop as they get older.

The important thing is that whether someone calls it a brown bear or a grizzly bear, it is the same bear. It also does not matter whether it lives, in Asia, Europe or North America. We are always talking about the same bear!

"The Bear Den" ©, 1996, 1997
is a copyrighted creation of
Don Middleton 

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