Like other bears, the brown ones have long shaggy hair, rudimentary tail, plantigrade feet. This species feeds largely on edible plants, fruit and insects, as well as on flesh. Though ordinarily clumsy and slow, they can move very fast for a short distance, espesially on rough or steep ground. All but the heaviest can climb trees, especially when looking for honey. Inhabiting an enormous territory comprising the forest zone of Europe, Asia, North America and even southern Africa, brown bears differ in sizes and colour.
Northern species are usually larger and darker than the southern.
This species is listed in the Red Book of Russia. In the southern regions of Russian Far East there can be found the Asiatic black bear . Like the brown bear, it spends the winter time in a den, but prefers to hibernate in the hollows of old trees. The American black bear resembles its asiatic relative much, though it is not too shaggy, has no marks on the breast, and the hair on the end of its snout is lighter in comparison with other parts of its body. One of our individuals limps a bit - when being a cub and living in Canadian forests, it somehow broke one of its legs.