Identifying Bears

When trying to distinguish between a grizzly bear and a black bear, don’t just focus on colour or size. A black bear can be brown and large, while a grizzly bear can be quite dark and small. Instead, look for these distinguishing features:

1. Shoulder hump: Grizzly bears have a large hump of muscle across the shoulders. This muscle powers their forelegs to dig out food sources such as roots, ground squirrels, marmots and bulbs. Their long, curved claws (5 – 10 cm) function as digging tools. Black bears have no hump, nor the same digging ability (claw length: 3 – 4 cm).

Black Bear © Parks Canada/JNP CD 1073 #54

Grizzly Bear © Parks Canada/JNP CD 1073 #34

2. Profile of the face: Grizzly bears have a large, rounded head with a dish-shaped or concave profile. The profile of a black bear’s face is straight or ‘roman’.

Grizzly Bear © Parks Canada/YNP CD 2871 #47

Black Bear © Parks Canada/JNP CD 1073 #54

3. The ears: The ears of a grizzly bear are small, rounded and set well apart. A black bear’s ears are more prominent.

Grizzly Bear © Parks Canada/Hal Morrison/YNP

Black Bear © Parks Canada/J. Bennett/KNP CD 1544 #22

Can you pick out two black and two grizzy bears below? Check your answer by placing your cursor on each of the bears.

© Parks Canada/BNP CD 2871 #41	© Parks Canada/H. Morrison/YNP
© Parks Canada/LLYK CD y#41/YNP	© Parks Canada/Larry Halverson/KNP