# Himalayan Brown Bear — Facts, Threats & Conservation

*Ursus arctos isabellinus*

> A Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) is a high-altitude subspecies of brown bear native to the western Himalayas of Pakistan, India and Nepal, recognisable by its sandy to reddish-brown coat and considered Critically Endangered within Pakistan even though the wider brown bear species is listed as Least Concern globally.

**IUCN status:** Not separately Red-Listed; locally Critically Endangered in Pakistan  ·  **WARN range:** Pakistan

## Quick facts
| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Lifespan | ~20–30 years in the wild |
| Weight | Roughly 70–250 kg; males much heavier than females |
| Length | Males ~1.5–2.2 m; females ~1.4–1.8 m |
| Diet | Omnivore — grasses, roots, insects, marmots, small mammals, carrion, occasional livestock |
| Gestation | ~180–266 days total including delayed implantation |
| Young per birth | Usually 1–3 cubs, most often 2 |
| Baby name | Cub |
| Group name | A sloth or sleuth of bears (bears are mostly solitary) |
| Habitat altitude | ~3,000–5,500 m alpine meadow and cold high desert |
| CITES | Appendix II (Pakistan populations) |

## Scientific classification
- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Mammalia
- **Order:** Carnivora
- **Family:** Ursidae
- **Genus:** Ursus
- **Species:** Ursus arctos (Linnaeus, 1758)
- **Subspecies:** Ursus arctos isabellinus (Horsfield, 1826) — the Himalayan brown bear

## Conservation status
- **Status:** Not separately assessed by the IUCN at subspecies level; the brown bear species (Ursus arctos) is Least Concern, while Pakistan treats this subspecies as Critically Endangered
- **Population:** No reliable rangewide estimate; Pakistan is thought to hold ~150–200, with 66 counted in and around Deosai National Park in a 2022 survey
- **Trend:** Decreasing in Pakistan and across the southern Himalayan range
- **Assessed:** 2017 (species-level IUCN assessment); 2022 (Deosai survey count)
- **CITES:** CITES Appendix II for Pakistan populations (the species is on Appendix I for Bhutan, China, Mexico and Mongolia)
- The Himalayan brown bear is a subspecies and has no standalone IUCN Red List assessment, so the global Least Concern status of the brown bear species badly overstates its security in Pakistan, where it is regarded as Critically Endangered.

## Key facts: Himalayan Brown Bear
- It is a subspecies of brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus), described by Horsfield in 1826, adapted to cold, treeless high mountains.
- Pakistan's population is tiny and fragmented, with its main refuge on the Deosai Plateau in Gilgit-Baltistan.
- The whole brown bear species is Least Concern globally (~110,000 animals), but the Himalayan subspecies in Pakistan is regarded as Critically Endangered.
- Major threats are poaching for body parts, the illegal capture of cubs as pets and for 'dancing bear' use, retaliatory killing over livestock, and habitat loss.
- Like all brown bears it hibernates through the harsh winter, typically denning from roughly October until April or May.
- It is an omnivore, eating grasses, roots, insects, marmots and other small mammals, and occasionally livestock.

## Why it is endangered in Pakistan
Although brown bears as a species are abundant across the northern hemisphere, the Himalayan brown bear sits at the southern, most fragile edge of that range. In Pakistan it is reduced to small, isolated subpopulations scattered across Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral and adjoining ranges, with the Deosai Plateau holding the most viable group. Low numbers, slow reproduction and the physical isolation of mountain valleys mean each pocket is vulnerable to local extinction. National assessments in Pakistan therefore treat the bear as Critically Endangered, a far harsher rating than the species' global Least Concern status, because the figures that matter here are the few hundred animals left inside the country, not the worldwide total.

## Behaviour and ecology
This is a creature of extremes, living higher than almost any other bear, on alpine meadows, scree slopes and cold high-altitude desert between roughly 3,000 and 5,500 metres. It is a generalist omnivore, grazing on grasses and roots, digging out marmots and other burrowing rodents, raiding insect colonies, and taking carrion or livestock when the chance arises. To survive brutal winters it hibernates in dens for several months, usually emerging in spring lean and hungry. Cubs are born during the winter den period, tiny and helpless, and stay with their mother for two years or more, which keeps population growth slow and recovery from losses painfully gradual.

## Threats: poaching, pet cubs and 'dancing bears'
The pressures on this bear are overwhelmingly human. Bears are killed for their fur, claws and internal organs, which feed an illegal trade in body parts, including bile prized in some traditional remedies. Cubs are especially valuable alive: orphaned or stolen young are trafficked as exotic pets and, in parts of South Asia, exploited as 'dancing bears' or baiting animals, a cruel use that condemns the animal to a short, painful life. On top of this, herders sometimes kill bears in retaliation for attacks on sheep and goats, and expanding grazing, infrastructure and disturbance steadily shrink the quiet high ground the bears need.

## What rescue and protection involve
Protecting this subspecies means work on several fronts at once. Maintaining safe, undisturbed core habitat such as Deosai is essential, alongside anti-poaching patrols and tighter enforcement against the trade in cubs and body parts. Where bears are confiscated from the pet or performance trade, they need lifelong sanctuary care, because animals raised in captivity usually cannot return to the wild. Just as important is defusing conflict with herders through guarding, compensation and education, so that a bear seen near livestock is reported rather than shot. Each of these depends on trained local teams operating in remote, hard-to-reach mountains.

## Himalayan brown bear vs Tibetan brown bear (blue bear)
| Feature | Himalayan brown bear | Tibetan brown bear (blue bear) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Subspecies | Ursus arctos isabellinus | Ursus arctos pruinosus |
| Main range | Western Himalayas: Pakistan, India, Nepal | Eastern Tibetan Plateau, China |
| Coat | Sandy to reddish / isabelline brown | Darker brown, often with bluish-grey tones and pale collar |
| Habitat | High alpine meadow and cold desert ~3,000–5,500 m | High Tibetan plateau grassland and shrubland |
| Status note | Critically Endangered within Pakistan | Poorly known; CITES Appendix II |
| CITES | Appendix II (Pakistan populations) | Appendix II |

## What WARN does
The World Animal Rescue Network is a registered UK Community Interest Company (CIC) that funds local partner shelters, sanctuaries and rescue teams in its five focus countries, including Pakistan, the heart of this bear's surviving range. Pakistan is where WARN can act most directly: backing the frontline partners who can respond to confiscated cubs, support anti-poaching and human-bear conflict work, and care for animals that can never go back to the wild. Because the subspecies also ranges into India and Nepal, beyond WARN's funded countries, WARN frames its role honestly as a funded focus inside Pakistan combined with wider public education and awareness about the trade that drives the species' decline.

By funding rescue and anti-trafficking partners on the ground in Pakistan, you help give confiscated cubs lifelong sanctuary and protect the last Himalayan brown bears of the Deosai high country.

## Frequently asked questions: Himalayan Brown Bear
### How long do Himalayan brown bears live?
Like other brown bears, they generally live around 20 to 30 years in the wild, and can reach much greater ages in captivity, though many cubs die in their first years of life.

### What do Himalayan brown bears eat?
They are omnivores, feeding on grasses, roots and other plants, insects, marmots and small mammals, carrion, and sometimes livestock such as sheep and goats.

### How big do Himalayan brown bears get?
Males can reach about 1.5 to 2.2 metres in length and are noticeably larger than females; they are among the smaller-bodied brown bear subspecies but are still the largest land mammal across much of their range.

### Are Himalayan brown bears dangerous?
They are powerful wild animals and can be dangerous if surprised, cornered or defending cubs, but they generally avoid people and most conflict happens around livestock rather than direct attacks.

### How many Himalayan brown bears are left?
Numbers are low and uncertain; Pakistan is thought to hold roughly 150 to 200, with a 2022 survey counting 66 in and around Deosai National Park, its main stronghold.

### Why is the Himalayan brown bear endangered?
In Pakistan it is considered Critically Endangered because of poaching for body parts, capture of cubs for the pet and 'dancing bear' trade, retaliatory killing over livestock, and the loss and fragmentation of its high-altitude habitat.

### What is a baby Himalayan brown bear called?
A young bear is called a cub, and cubs typically stay with their mother for two years or more.

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Himalayan brown bear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayan_brown_bear)
- [IUCN Red List — Ursus arctos (Brown Bear) assessment](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41688/144339998)
- [IUCN Red List — Brown Bear assessment PDF](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/pdf/121229971/attachment)
- [Gilgit-Baltistan Forests, Wildlife & Environment — Himalayan Brown Bear Survey 2022 (Deosai)](https://fwegb.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GB-FWP-Brown-Bears-Survey-2022-09-03.pdf)
- [IUCN/IBA International Association for Bear Research and Management — Brown bear (Ursus arctos)](https://www.bearbiology.org/the-eight-bear-species/ursus-arctos-brown-bear/)
- [Animal Diversity Web — Ursus arctos (life history, reproduction)](https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ursus_arctos/)
- [CITES — Appendices listing for Ursus arctos](https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php)

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Full guide: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/himalayan-brown-bear