The Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) is a species of bear that can reach weights of 130–700 kg (300–1500 pounds). The grizzly bear (Ursus Horribilis), 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.
Appearance
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 forearms end in massive paws tipped with extremely powerful claws that can be up to 6 inches in length. Unlike the claws of other large predatory animals, such as lions or tigers, the claws aren't retractable. This gives the claws a dull edge when compared to other predators. The Brown Bear possesses tremendous power: a large specimen can break a bison's spine with one blow of its powerful forepaw. Despite the relatively dull edges to their claws, the sheer force of a blow from a large specimen is nothing short of devastating. Their heads are large and round with a concave facial profile. In spite of their size, some have been clocked at speeds in excess of 35 MPH. Aside from their overwhelming strength and deceptive speed, Brown Bears are legendary for their physical stamina. They are capable of running at full speed for miles at a time without stopping. The largest subspecies of the brown bear is the Kodiak bear and Alaskan Coastal bear. It is not uncommon for a large male Kodiak to stand 10 feet in height while on its hind legs, and weigh well over 680 kg (1,500 lb). The tallest bears have been known to reach heights of 13 feet. However, in terms of weight, the largest bear ever recorded was a Kodiak that weighed over 1134 kg (2500 lb) that was brought to the Berlin Zoo directly from Kodiak Island. Bears of this size weigh near 1500 kg (3307 lb) in the zoo, due to regular feeding.
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