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The Brown Bear (Ursus
arctos) is a species of bear that can reach weights of 130–700
kg (300–1500 pounds). The Grizzly Bear, the Kodiak Bear
and the Mexican Brown Bear are North American subspecies of the
Brown Bear. It is sometimes referred to poetically as the bruin.
Brown Bears have coats in shades of blond, brown, black, or a
combination of those colours; the long outer guard hairs are often
tipped with white or silver, giving a "grizzled" appearance.
Brown Bears have a large hump of muscle over their shoulders which
gives strength to the forelimbs for digging. Their heads are large
and round with a concave facial profile. In spite of their size,
they can run at speeds of up to 64 km/h (40 mph).
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Brown Bears are now extinct in some areas and have had their numbers
greatly reduced in others. They prefer semi-open country, usually
in mountainous areas. The Brown Bear ranges from Alaska east through
the Yukon and Northwest Territories, south through British Columbia
and through the western half of Alberta. Isolated populations
exist in northwestern Washington, northern Idaho, western Montana,
and northwestern Wyoming. The subspecies U. arctos horribilis
(the Grizzly Bear) is the common Brown Bear of continental North
America; the subspecies U. arctos middendorffi (Kodiak Bear) includes
bears on the Alaskan islands of Kodiak, Afognak, and Shuyak. The
range of the subspecies U. arctos nelsoni is in northern Mexico.
Above Images Come From The US Fish & Wildlife Service
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