Difference Between Grizzly, Brown, and Kodiak Bears

[Music] many people who come to visit Kodiak Island Katmai National Park and other parts of Alaska for bear viewing opportunities often get a little confused about the differences between the various species and subspecies of bears I often hear folks refer to Kodiak brown bears as well as the coastal brown bears of the mainland of Alaska as grizzly bears however technically they are somewhat different grizzly bears coastal brown bears and Kodiak bears are all the same species that is Ursus arctos but the grizzly bear Ursus arctos horriblest and the Kodiak bear Ursus arctos Middendorf II are considered separate subspecies of which there are significant differences in north america brown bears are considered to be those of the species that have access to coastal food sources while grizzly bears are essentially brown bears that live further inland and typically don't have access to marine derived food sources the Kodiak bear is a coastal brown bear which lives on the kodiak island archipelago and has been isolated for 12,000 years from the brown bears of the mainland of Alaska they have a slightly larger bone structure and hold the unique title of being the biggest bear in the world with the largest one on record being close to 1700 pounds now the polar bear does get bigger than the Kodiak brown bear however the polar bear is classified as a marine mammal while both grizzly and coastal brown bears including Kodiak bears are often referred to as carnivores they are actually omnivores and eat a wide variety of foods grizzly bears eat berries roots all sorts of plants ground-dwelling rodents worms pine nuts whatever carrion they can find as well as moose elk deer black bear sheep mountain goats and other mammals that may live in their particular region especially the calves of those animals Kodiak bears and the coastal brown bears of the mainland eat many similar things as the interior Grizzlies such as grass and other plants berries and dead animals but a substantial portion of their diet consists of salmon and other coastal food sources which greatly contributes to their enormous size coastal brown bears generally don't expend the time and energy necessary to aggressively chase down and kill other mammals since nutritious food sources are usually readily available and much easier to attain besides the differences in habitat and diet there are also physical and temperamental differences between the coastal brown bears and the true grizzly bears large male coastal brown bears CAD routinely weigh well over a thousand pounds in the fall when gorging themselves on fish in contrast grizzly bears who live in the interior regions of wilderness weigh far less on average also since the grizzly bear has much more limited food resources and must work significantly harder at attaining them they can be much more aggressive than the larger coastal brown bears both coastal brown bears and grizzly bears can vary in color from shades of light brown and blonde to dark brown and almost black in coloration however the fur of grizzly bears is typically lighter in color at the tips giving the grizzled effect while there are other differences between the various subspecies of brown bears those are the main ones if you'd like to learn more about bears especially how to photograph them safely check out my book how to photograph bears the beauty of the beast [Music] you

Channel: Wild Revelation Outdoors

Views: 1,311,561

Rating: 4.8668056 out of 5

Keywords: Difference, between, Alaska, Kodiak Island, Katmai National Park, Kodiak bear, brown bear, grizzly bear, attack, safety, Wild Revelation Outdoors, wildlife, wilderness, animals, amazing, cute, funny, mauling, nature, video, sow, cubs, killed, kills, boar, Timothy Treadwell, how to photograph bears, Joseph Classen, ursus arctos, horribilis, huge, giant, big, mother, baby, black bear, middendorffi, grizzly man, fight, hunt, stalk, humans, wildlife photography, documentary, biology, scientific

Id: qye9AWXQFBw

Length: 4min 44sec (284 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 23 2018