The Brown Bear (Ursus arctos)

Ask most people what animal they associate with the vast expanses and raw wildness of Alaska and chances are the majority of them will say "The Brown Bear". Brown bears simultaneously enthral and terrify us.

Brown bears occur through out Alaska with the exception of some islands off the coast (e.g. In the Bering Sea). Brown Bears are actually the same species as Grizzly bears although the term brown bear is used to refer to members of the species that live along the coastline who have a diet primarily made up of fish (i.e. Salmon). With all this protein in their diet Brown bears get BIG really big with extremely large bears weighing in at over 1,200 lbs, they can stand over 9 feet tall (on their hind legs) and live up to about 25 years old. Brown bears have an amazing sense of smell and if the wind is blowing in the right direction they can smell a scent from over a mile away. Despite the old wives tale about bears not having good eyesight they actually can see as well as we can and their hearing is as good as ours as well (if you do see a brown bear and he stands up on his hind legs chances are he is just getting a better look to see what you are!)

Brown bears spend between 5 to 7 months asleep, which means that when they are awake they need to stock up on food. They eat about 90lbs of food a day during the summer. When the salmon are plentiful the bears will only eat the parts of the salmon which are rich in fat and protein (usually the skin and the head) and discard the rest… which works out well for young bears who are able to ‘clean up the scraps!

If you didn't see one of these magnificent "lords of the wild" while in Alaska (or if you did but didn't get a good photo) don't worry... I've some great photos for you to check out in this gallery!