Brown Bears - Ursus arctos
The Brown Bear is perhaps the most archetypal of all bear species and shows incredible geographical diversity, and the single species recognized today was at one point in history divided into 232 living and 39 fossil species and subspecies. Some of the more well-known subspecies of Brown Bear include the Grizzly Bear, named for its silver tipped fur, and the Kodiak Bear, the largest form of Brown Bear, which can weigh over 2,000 pounds, and is found on islands off southern Alaska.
Today, the Brown Bear is most commonly hunted for sport, or poached for the commercial trade in bear paws and gall bladders. Hunting legislation varies between countries, but where permitted, it is controlled through the use of permits and maximum annual quotas. However, due to difficulties with the development of monitoring plans, the sustainability of quotas in some regions is questionable, and there are also significant problems with illegal hunting, such as in the Russian Far East and South East Asia.
Visit the Polar Bear and Black Bear pages to see photos of these awesome animals as well.
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