Brown Bear Fun Facts

Did you know ...

... that there are places in Southeastern Alaska where you can find brown bear populations as dense as one bear per square mile? This practically constitutes overcrowding from the bears' standpoint. On Alaska's North Slope, brown bear densities drop to around 1 bear per 100 square miles, giving the big grizzlies room to roam. Biologists attribute the extremes in bear densities to the richer food supply along temperate coasts, where bears feed heavily on berries and salmon.

Alaska has more than 98 percent of the U.S. population of brown bears. Biologists estimate there are about 30,000 of these big bruins in Alaska. Bears are typically solitary creatures and usually avoid the company of other bears.

Learn more about brown bears from the Alaska Wildlife Notebook Series.