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Mammals · 11 species guides

Bears: Species, Identification & Conservation

Bears are large omnivorous mammals in the family Ursidae, including polar bears, brown and grizzly bears, American and Asian black bears, giant pandas, sun bears, sloth bears and spectacled bears; they share a heavy build, plantigrade feet, a short tail, a keen sense of smell and a diet spanning meat, fish, fruit, nuts and vegetation by species and season.

Shoulder hump
Brown and grizzly bears carry a prominent shoulder hump of muscle for digging. American black bears lack the hump and have a straighter profile from ears to rump.
Ears and face
Black bears have taller, more pointed ears and a straighter facial profile. Brown bears have dish-shaped faces and smaller, rounder ears set wider apart. Polar bears have a long neck and elongated head.
Colour is unreliable
American black bears can be brown, cinnamon or even blonde — colour alone does not identify them. Brown bears range from pale to almost black. Use shape and hump instead.
Claws and tracks
Brown and grizzly bear claw marks in tracks extend well beyond the toe pads; black bear claw marks sit closer to the pads. Front tracks of a black bear are more rounded.

Bears are among the most recognisable mammals on Earth — heavy-bodied, plantigrade, with a short tail, small eyes and a sense of smell that outperforms almost any other carnivore. All eight living species belong to Ursidae, though they split into distinct lineages long ago. Polar bears are marine specialists; giant pandas are bamboo specialists; sloth bears feed largely on insects; the rest are broad omnivores whose diet shifts with season and latitude.

That flexibility is part of why bears matter in conservation. A bear that can eat berries, fish, carrion and small mammals can persist in varied landscapes — but it also brings them into conflict with people, who share those same resources. Almost every bear species faces pressure from habitat loss, and several from direct persecution or trade. Understanding which bear you are looking at — and the confusion pairs such as grizzly versus black bear, or brown bear versus grizzly — is the starting point for both identification and the conservation conversation.

Key facts

  • All living bears belong to Ursidae — eight species split across polar, brown, black, panda, sun, sloth and spectacled lineages.
  • Bears are plantigrade — they walk on the soles of their feet — which contributes to their distinctive flat-footed track and heavy gait.
  • A grizzly bear is a brown bear; the name describes inland North American populations with a grizzled coat, not a separate species.
  • Giant pandas are bears, not raccoons — genetic work confirmed their place in Ursidae despite their specialised bamboo diet.
  • Polar bears are the most carnivorous bears, adapted to hunting seals on sea ice; their survival is tightly linked to Arctic ice extent.
  • Almost every bear species faces habitat loss; several also face hunting, trade or conflict killing where they overlap with livestock and orchards.

How to recognise them

The features that separate this group in the field, in the order they are usually most useful.

Shoulder hump
Brown and grizzly bears carry a prominent shoulder hump of muscle for digging. American black bears lack the hump and have a straighter profile from ears to rump.
Ears and face
Black bears have taller, more pointed ears and a straighter facial profile. Brown bears have dish-shaped faces and smaller, rounder ears set wider apart. Polar bears have a long neck and elongated head.
Colour is unreliable
American black bears can be brown, cinnamon or even blonde — colour alone does not identify them. Brown bears range from pale to almost black. Use shape and hump instead.
Claws and tracks
Brown and grizzly bear claw marks in tracks extend well beyond the toe pads; black bear claw marks sit closer to the pads. Front tracks of a black bear are more rounded.
The confusion pairs
Grizzly versus black bear: shoulder hump, face shape and claw length in tracks. Brown bear versus grizzly: grizzly is a brown bear subspecies — the name refers to the grizzled coat and inland North American populations, not a separate species. Spectacled bear versus black bear: pale facial markings around the eyes, found only in the Andes.

11 bears guides

Search or filter by conservation status. Every guide carries sourced facts, IUCN status and FAQs.

Showing 1-11 of 11 animals

Animal group
A brown bear standing on a riverbank during salmon season, water dripping from its fur, forested mountains behind.
Varies by species

Mammals

B

Bear

Family Ursidae — 8 living species across North America, South America, Europe and Asia

The eight bears of the world — from polar ice to Andean cloud forest, all under pressure.

North America · South America

Open guide
An American black bear (Ursus americanus) resting in deep snow between tree trunks in a winter forest in West Virginia, its dark fur dusted with snowflakes
Least Concern

Mammals

B

Black Bear

Ursus americanus (Pallas, 1780)

North America's most common bear — adaptable, omnivorous and widely misunderstood.

North America · Canada

Open guide
Brown bear standing in a mountain meadow with forest behind
Least Concern

Mammals

B

Brown Bear

Ursus arctos

The widespread bear of the Northern Hemisphere

North America · Europe

Open guide
A giant panda with black-and-white fur sitting upright and gripping a bamboo stalk in a misty Chinese mountain forest.
Vulnerable

Mammals

G

Giant Panda

Ailuropoda melanoleuca

The bamboo-eating bear whose recovery became a conservation symbol.

China

Open guide
A large grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) walking across green grass in Yellowstone, its thick brown fur and muscular build clearly visible, with trees in the background
Least Concern brown bear; threatened in parts of USA

Mammals

G

Grizzly Bear

Ursus arctos horribilis (Ord, 1815)

North America's iconic brown bear — powerful, omnivorous and fiercely protected.

Western Canada · Alaska

Open guide
Three Himalayan brown bears (Ursus arctos isabellinus) on a steep wild alpine slope covered with autumn grasses and rocks at Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh, India
Not separately Red-Listed; locally Critically Endangered in Pakistan

Mammals

H

Himalayan Brown Bear

Ursus arctos isabellinus

The vanishing giant of Pakistan's roof-of-the-world plateaus.

Pakistan

Open guide
Asiatic black bear with shaggy black fur and a broad white V-shaped chest mark standing in montane forest understorey
Vulnerable

Mammals

M

Moon Bear

Ursus thibetanus (G. Cuvier, 1823) — family Ursidae

The bear kept in crush cages for decades so bile can be drained from its gallbladder — and the species WARN exists to help retire.

South and Southeast Asia · East Asia

Open guide
A polar bear with creamy white fur standing on Arctic sea ice, its powerful frame silhouetted against a pale blue horizon.
Vulnerable

Mammals

P

Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus (Popham, 1774)

The Arctic's apex predator — built for ice that is disappearing.

Arctic Canada · Greenland

Open guide
A sloth bear with shaggy black fur and a pale chest blaze using its long claws to tear open a termite mound in Indian dry forest.
Vulnerable

Mammals

S

Sloth Bear

Melursus ursinus (Cuvier, 1793)

India's shaggy insect-eater — long-clawed, termite-loving and increasingly squeezed.

India · Nepal

Open guide
Spectacled bear in cloud forest sanctuary in South America
Vulnerable

Mammals

S

Spectacled Bear

Tremarctos ornatus (F. Cuvier, 1825)

South America's only bear — losing its cloud forest to coca, cattle, and roads.

Colombia · Peru

Open guide
Sun bear with its distinctive pale chest patch in Southeast Asian forest
Vulnerable

Mammals

S

Sun Bear

Helarctos malayanus (Raffles, 1821)

The smallest bear on earth — kept in cages for bile, or taken as cubs for pets.

Indonesia · Malaysia

Open guide

Conservation: what this group faces

Bears need large home ranges, seasonal food sources and denning sites — requirements that overlap directly with forestry, agriculture and human settlement. Habitat loss is the common thread across species, from Andean cloud forest for spectacled bears to lowland forest for sun bears. Polar bears face a distinct and accelerating threat from Arctic sea-ice loss, which removes the platform they use to hunt seals. Conflict killing — when bears raid crops, beehives or livestock — remains a major source of mortality where prevention measures such as electric fencing and secure food storage are not in place.

Fund mammal protection Current appeals

Bears: frequently asked questions

How many species of bear are there?
Eight living species: polar bear, brown bear (including grizzly), American black bear, Asian black bear, giant panda, sun bear, sloth bear and spectacled bear. The Syrian brown bear subspecies is considered extinct in the wild.
What is the difference between a grizzly and a black bear?
Shape, not colour. Grizzlies have a prominent shoulder hump, a dish-shaped face and small rounded ears. Black bears lack the hump, have taller pointed ears and a straighter facial profile. In tracks, grizzly claws extend further beyond the toe pads.
Is a grizzly bear a different species from a brown bear?
No. A grizzly is a brown bear — Ursus arctos — usually referring to inland North American populations with a grizzled coat. Coastal brown bears, such as Kodiak bears, are the same species with access to richer salmon-fed diets.
Are giant pandas really bears?
Yes. For decades their classification was debated, but genetic analysis confirmed they belong in Ursidae. Their bamboo diet is a recent specialisation within an omnivorous family, not evidence of a separate lineage.
Which bear is the largest?
Polar bears and large coastal brown bears compete for the title. Polar bears are the heaviest bear species on average, with large males exceeding the mass of most brown bears. Kodiak bears — a brown bear subspecies — reach comparable sizes where salmon is abundant.
Are bears endangered?
Several are. Giant pandas have recovered from Critically Endangered status through intensive protection but remain Vulnerable. Polar bears are Vulnerable, with sea-ice loss the primary long-term threat. Sun bears, sloth bears and spectacled bears are all Vulnerable across much of their range.

Other types of mammal

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