A bear of forests, mountains and other habitats in Eurasia and North America. It eats plants and animals, changing its diet with the seasons.
Its coat is often brown, but varies from pale cream to nearly black.
Brown bears eat spawning sockeye salmon in streams entering Alaska’s Lake Aleknagik. These streams are less than five metres wide and thirty centimetres deep and have little woody cover in which fish can hide. Three streams form a foraging neighbourhood on each side of the lake.
A 2026 study analysed hair collected on wires across the streams in 2012–2022. DNA identified individuals, while carbon and nitrogen isotopes provided dietary clues. Among 34 bears represented by 117 samples across multiple years, isotope signals consistent with greater salmon consumption increased with time since each animal’s first detection. Signals were also higher in the salmon-richer northeastern neighbourhood. Individuals nevertheless ranged widely, from predominantly plant-based diets to strong reliance on meat.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
At Brooks Camp in Alaska’s Katmai National Park, designated food caches help prevent bears from associating people with food. NPS guidance updated in September 2025 explains that bears obtaining fish from people may ultimately be killed. It also reports that some bears avoid feeding near large visitor groups and asks visitors to use viewing platforms quietly.