WEBVTT - What's the Difference Between Brown and Black Bears? 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:04.320 Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio. 0:00:06.160 --> 0:00:09.039 Hey brain Stuff. Lauren Vogel bum here with today's question, 0:00:09.960 --> 0:00:13.800 what's the difference between black bears and brown bears? The 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:18.200 animals we call black bears belong to the species Ursus americanas. 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:22.480 Despite their common name, they can be black, brown, gray, whitish, 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:26.840 or even blonde in color. Another bear that coexists with 0:00:26.880 --> 0:00:30.200 it is a separate species known as Ursus arctos, or 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:33.959 the brown bear. If you're confused, don't worry. We are 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:39.240 here to clear things up. Just bear with us. You'll 0:00:39.280 --> 0:00:42.879 never see a wild black bear outside of North America, 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:46.760 even though it's the most populous bear species alive today, 0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:50.120 with an estimated eight hundred thousand animals. The black bear 0:00:50.240 --> 0:00:55.200 is restricted to Canada, Mexico, Alaska, and the continental United States. 0:00:56.440 --> 0:00:59.320 Brown bears are less common in terms of sheer numbers, 0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:02.160 only about a hundred and ten thousand are thought to exist, 0:01:02.880 --> 0:01:06.200 but they've got the widest geographic range of any modern 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:10.520 ur said indigenous to both North America and Eurasia, wild 0:01:10.560 --> 0:01:14.959 brown bear populations are dispersed from Spain to Central Canada, 0:01:15.120 --> 0:01:18.360 and one extinct subspecies lived in Africa as recently as 0:01:18.400 --> 0:01:24.479 the nineteen seventies. Brown bears have subspecies galore. If you've 0:01:24.480 --> 0:01:28.040 ever been to Yellowstone National Park or followed Memphis basketball, 0:01:28.319 --> 0:01:30.200 you should be familiar with at least one of them. 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:37.240 The iconic grizzly bear scientific name Ursus arctos horribilious. Grizzlies 0:01:37.319 --> 0:01:40.080 once roamed a huge chunk of the North American continent. 0:01:40.680 --> 0:01:44.240 Due to human activities, however, they've become restricted to Alaska 0:01:44.319 --> 0:01:48.760 and northwestern Canada, along with portions of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, 0:01:48.800 --> 0:01:52.919 and Washington State. Neither brown nor black bears are listed 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:56.120 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as endangered 0:01:56.200 --> 0:02:00.640 or threatened. Grizzlies nevertheless enjoy some federal action under the 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:05.680 US Endangered Species Act as of this writing. Another brown 0:02:05.680 --> 0:02:10.200 bear subspecies encountered in this hemisphere is Ursus arctos mindorfi, 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:15.760 the Kodiak bear. Found exclusively on Alaska's Kodiak Archipelago. It's 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:18.160 one of the biggest predators that now walks the Earth. 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:21.360 They're large enough to sometimes rival the polar bear in 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:25.720 size weights of one thousand, sixty to one thousand, one 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:28.840 hundred eighty pounds that's about four hundred and eighty to 0:02:29.040 --> 0:02:32.360 five hundred and thirty five kilos are considered normal for 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:37.119 male Kodiak bears. Grizzly males are a little slimmer, averaging 0:02:37.160 --> 0:02:40.040 between three hundred and eight hundred and sixty pounds that's 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:42.919 about a hundred thirty five to three d nine kilos. 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:47.600 In both cases, females or sALS belong to a different 0:02:47.639 --> 0:02:51.760 size class. Your typical kodiak sow is around twenty lighter 0:02:51.919 --> 0:02:56.120 and thirty smaller dimension wise than a normal male. Grizzlies 0:02:56.160 --> 0:03:00.799 have a similar disparity. Standing on all four a grown 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:03.400 male brown bear can measure five feet that's one and 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:05.880 a half meters tall at the shoulder, and when they 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:09.120 rear up, the biggest individuals can assume a towering height 0:03:09.160 --> 0:03:13.760 of ten feet or three meters. Black bears can't compete 0:03:13.760 --> 0:03:17.320 with those dimensions. Their maximum shoulder height is closer to 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:19.640 three feet or just shy of a meter, and they 0:03:19.680 --> 0:03:22.160 stand a mere five to seven feet that's one and 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:25.440 a half to two meters tall. When fully reared. Male 0:03:25.480 --> 0:03:28.160 black bears usually tip the scales at a hundred thirty 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:31.799 to five hundred pounds that's about sixty two thirty kilos, 0:03:31.840 --> 0:03:34.280 where a sous way between fifty and two hundred and 0:03:34.320 --> 0:03:39.320 fifty pounds, that's forty and ten kilos. Thankfully, you don't 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:42.560 need measuring tape or a Yogi bear sized bathroom scale 0:03:42.560 --> 0:03:47.200 to tell black and brown bears apart. Brown bear shoulders 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:51.160 aren't just taller by comparison, they're also more prominent, giving 0:03:51.200 --> 0:03:54.960 the creatures a distinctive hump when viewed in profile. It's 0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:58.800 a feature that black bears lack. The black bear has straighter, 0:03:58.880 --> 0:04:03.280 shorter claws the help it climb trees and tear up logs. Meanwhile, 0:04:03.360 --> 0:04:06.560 the brown bears long and curvy claws make great digging tools. 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:11.720 They also leave some very different paw prints behind. Brown 0:04:11.840 --> 0:04:14.840 bear four paws leave a wider gap between the toes 0:04:14.880 --> 0:04:18.479 and the pad that sits behind them, and overall, black 0:04:18.480 --> 0:04:23.360 bear pandprints look rounder a relative to its body size. 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:26.760 Black bears have longer ears, and the facial differences don't 0:04:26.760 --> 0:04:30.159 stop there. If you were to somehow draw a line 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:33.040 from each bear's nose to the space between its eyes, 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:36.400 you'd find that brown bears have a more concave face. 0:04:37.839 --> 0:04:41.440 They also have different living habits, whereas black bears climb 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:44.600 trees throughout their lives. Brown bears stop doing this when 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:48.200 they grow up. The two species are crafty omnivores who 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:50.839 will eat a wide range of plant and animal matter, 0:04:51.360 --> 0:04:54.520 and sometimes this means competing for the same resources. A 0:04:54.560 --> 0:04:57.839 British Columbian salmon are hunted by black and brown bears alike. 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:01.640 Brown bears are a able to kill much larger game 0:05:01.880 --> 0:05:05.039 than their cousins, though black bears can even be on 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:09.440 their menu. Of course, all of these things are best 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:14.279 observed from a nice, safe distance. Zoologists consider brown bears 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:17.360 to be the more aggressive species, but both animals can 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:21.640 maim and kill human beings. Wall attacks are statistically rare. 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:24.640 There's no reason to tempt fate by getting too close 0:05:24.680 --> 0:05:27.640 to a wild ersin look up the U S. National 0:05:27.680 --> 0:05:30.760 Park Service Safety Guide to bear encounters if you happen 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:34.520 to be planning to explore black or brown bears natural habitats. 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:42.479 Today's episode was based on the article What's the Difference 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:44.360 between a Brown bear and a Black Bear? On how 0:05:44.400 --> 0:05:47.600 stuff Works dot Com written by Mark Vancini. Brain stuff 0:05:47.600 --> 0:05:49.600 It's production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:51.840 stuff Works dot Com and is produced by Tyler Clay 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:55.000 four more podcasts to my heart Radio, visit the iHeart 0:05:55.080 --> 0:05:57.800 Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 0:05:57.839 --> 0:05:58.560 favorite shows.