Although one of the most feared animals in the world, brown bears go out of their way to avoid people. Despite this, habitat loss and hunting have greatly reduced their populations. In some other areas, brown bears have whitish or blackish coats. In North America, brown bears often live in the same areas as the smaller American black bear. Brown bears are distinguished from black bears by their humped shoulders, more upturned snouts, longer fur, and longer claws.
Brown bears have large snouts but small ears.
Male brown bears grow larger than females. On all four legs, a brown bear stands up to five feet tall. But standing on two legs, as brown bears can do for short periods, a large individual towers up to nine feet tall. Females may weigh more than 450 pounds, but large males reach close to 1,000 pounds. Brown bears grow from six and a half to nine feet long.