The heaviest bear in the world. The biggest bears in the world. The world's largest bear

In every forest of a region or region, not only in Russia, but also in the world, there is some kind of bear. Meeting him face to face does not promise anything good. Only a few can boast of a successful outcome of a confrontation with a bear. But not all of these animals are dangerous to humans. There are also quite harmless specimens. But, in any case, it is better to stay away from them. And especially from large individuals. In this article we will look at what the largest bears in the world are.

10. Gubach | Weight 54 - 140 kg

The bear with the most unusual appearance is in our top. The shape of its head, eyes and nose resembles that of a sloth. The bear's lips look like a trunk, hence the specific name of the animal.

Distribution area: India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal. Currently endangered and listed in the Red Book. Lives no more than 40 years.

9. Himalayan bear | Weight 120 - 140 kg

The animal with black short silky fur weighs 120-140 kg and has a body length of 150-170 cm. A distinctive feature of the bear is a spot in the shape of the letter “V” on the chest. It was this that gave the second name to the mammal - Moon Bear.

The Himalayan bear can be found in Iran, Afghanistan, the Himalayas, and Pakistan. Rare in Korea. On the territory of Russia it lives in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories.

The mammal, which ranks ninth on the list of the largest bears on the planet, can be called a herbivore, because almost 90% of its food consists of nuts, berries, and herbs. Of living creatures, it feeds only on frogs, mollusks and ants. Lives about 25 years. Listed in the Red Book.

8. Spectacled Bear | Weight 70 - 140 kg

The only resident of the bear family in South America. Lives in Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, Peru. It weighs from 70 to 140 kg, and the body length of the mammal reaches 150-180 cm. It lives only 21 years. The spectacled bear, one of the largest bears in the world, does not hibernate, although it makes a den for itself. He hunts at night or during twilight hours. In its herbivory it is second only to the Giant Panda. It feeds on roots, herbs, and fruits. Very rarely attacks deer. Single bear. It is considered a critically endangered species. Listed in the Red Book.

7. Giant Panda | Weight up to 160 kg

The most peaceful bear on the planet. It has a specific black and white coat color. The weight of the largest individuals reaches 160 kg. The length of the mammal is 1.3-1.8 meters.

It feeds only on bamboo. It can eat more than 30 kg of this plant per day. When there is a shortage of food, the panda, which is one of the largest bears, does not disdain small animals, insects, and bird eggs.

Panda habitat: Tibet and Sichuan - mountainous regions of China. It is under threat of complete extinction. There is a death penalty for killing a panda in China.

6. Kermode | Weight up to 300 kg

This animal, one of the largest bears on the planet, is called a ghost bear by the Indians. It was named after the zoologist Francis Kermode. It was he who first described this type of bear.

The habitat is located on the west coast of Canada. Kermode is a subspecies of the American black bear. Having a white coat, he is, however, not an albino or a relative of Polar bears.

It feeds on both animal and plant foods: fruits, berries, rhizomes.

It has a length of up to 1.8 meters and a body weight of up to 300 kg.

5. Baribal | Weight 330 - 360 kg

The length of the baribal, which occupies the middle of the ranking of the largest bears in the world, reaches two meters. The weight of an adult male is 330-360 kg. The largest individual that was shot had a body weight of 363 kg. The animal with a sharp muzzle and shiny black fur lives throughout almost the entire United States and Canada. Also common in northern Mexico. The bear feeds mainly on food of plant origin (berries, nuts), insects, and fish. Sometimes attacks sheep or pigs. Lives about 10 years in natural conditions and 30 in captivity. The number of baribal individuals currently reaches 600,000.

4. Grizzly | Weight up to 450 kg

Subspecies of brown bear. Found in Alaska, western Canada, near Yellowstone Park and northwestern Washington. The mass of this large animal reaches 450 kg. It feeds mainly on fish (salmon), but does not disdain carrion.

The grizzly bear is very similar to the brown bear. There are almost no special differences. The difference is mainly in behavior, not appearance. The mammal is stronger than the brown bear.

Although the word “Grizzly” is translated as scary, the bear attacks people only when it is hungry or angry. The rest of the time, a person is not of particular value to the mammal, which occupies 4th place in the ranking of the largest bears in the world.

3. Siberian brown bear | Weight 750 - 800 kg

Another subspecies of brown bear. The largest specimens reach a length of 2.5 meters and a body weight of 750-800 kg. An animal with dark brown fur lives near the basin of the Kolyma and Anadyr rivers. Sometimes found east of the Yenisei River, near the border of Eastern Kazakhstan and in the Chinese province of Xinjiang.

It is a solitary bear and hibernates during the winter. An animal receiving a bronze rating biggest bears in the world, eats plant and animal food in approximately equal proportions, that is, an omnivore. He loves fish very much: the Iberian brown bear can often be found near shallow rivers

2. Kodiak | Weight 800 - 1000 kg

And finally, the largest subspecies of brown bear and the silver medalist in the rating of large bears on the planet is Kodiak. The mammal, up to 2.8 meters long and weighing up to 800-1000 kg, is an omnivore. It has a muscular long body with a massive head and a short tail.

At the moment, the number of these bears is 3000 individuals. They have been endangered for a long time, so you can shoot no more than 160 animals per year. The man scares the beast. After meeting him, the bear may stop gaining weight for hibernation.

The species is common in the Kodiak archipelago, which is located off the coast of Alaska.

1. Polar bear | Weight up to 1 ton

A predatory animal, up to 3 meters long and weighing up to 1 ton, becomes the leader in the ranking of the largest bears on the planet. The species is widespread in the Arctic. There are a lot of Polar bears on the island of Spitsbergen. There are many more of them there than people. Spitsbergen is also called the “Island of Polar Bears”.

Among the largest bears are the Kodiak brown bear, grizzly bear, and polar bear. These are all animals of enormous weight and length. There is also a record holder among teddy toy bears.

The biggest teddy bear

The record-breaking teddy bear, recognized as the largest in the world, greeted visitors to the plush toy museum every day for almost twenty years, standing at the entrance. The museum was located in the city of Statford. All this time he was the subject of admiration for young visitors. The height of this toy is three meters and thirty centimeters. It's hard to imagine the weight of this giant.
Over the years, the exhibition was visited by at least a million people. Unfortunately, the museum was closed in 2007, and this bear, like the rest of the exhibits, was put up for sale.

Big polar bears

Polar bears have several other names - polar bear, sea bear, northern bear and oshkuy. The polar bear descended from the brown bear. The largest specimens grow up to three meters or more and can weigh about eight hundred kilograms, however, this is very rare. Usually the male is within the length of two to two and a half meters, his weight does not exceed half a ton. Externally, the oshkuy and the brown bear have noticeable differences. The polar bear's head is flat on an elongated neck, and its ears are small. The wool is not only white, but also yellowish. It's amazing that all polar bears have black skin. This is impossible to notice due to the dense fur.
Oshkuy lives in the northern hemisphere and feeds on walruses, seals, seals and other sea animals. To catch them, the bear hides in a shelter and then stuns them with a blow to the head. Polar bears have long been listed in the Red Book. The reason is that they reproduce slowly, and their young often become prey to other predators. These bears are hunted by poachers. Every year they destroy at least two hundred individuals.

Huge Kodiak bears

One of the subspecies of brown bears is the Kodiak. It is the largest among the planet's predators. This is confirmed by its size. The height at the withers of an individual of this subspecies reaches one and a half meters, and the length is about four meters. The weight of the giant bear is also striking. So, a female weighs a quarter of a ton, and an adult male weighs almost four hundred and fifty kilograms. These parameters are average, and there are specimens that reach a weight of one ton.

The habitat of this subspecies is Kodiak Island and the islands of the Kodiak archipelago, that is, where winter does not last long and there is always a lot of different food. Like other bears, Kodiaks hibernate in winter. Their food is not only animals, these bears do not refuse carrion, they eat roots, berries and herbs. During the salmon spawning period, Kodiaks enjoy eating it. Animals mate in the summer, and the development of a fertilized cell begins in the fall. No more than three cubs are born in January or February, when the female is in a state of hibernation. Children remain with their mother for the first three years of life.

The largest grizzlies

Another large subspecies of brown bear, considered the second largest in size after the Kodiak, is called the grizzly. Its habitat is Alaska and Canada. Until recently, grizzlies could be found in Mexico. Outwardly, he is not particularly different from other brown bears. The only difference is the length of its claws, which can reach fifteen centimeters. It is for this reason that grizzlies never climb trees.

Some individuals weigh about a ton and are about four meters long. From a distance, grizzlies appear slightly grayish, the reason being that, being brown, they are covered in gray fur in some places. While bears are small, their claws are still very small, which allows grizzlies to climb trees, destroy hives and eat plant foods.

The main diet of an adult is animal food. Grizzly is an excellent fisherman. It is very dangerous for a person to encounter this predator. He can deliver a fatal blow with one blow of his paw. It is known that this subspecies of brown bear and polar bear can interbreed.

The largest bear in the world

The largest bear in history is considered to be a giant short-faced cave bear that once lived in South America. He is known as Arctodus. According to scientists, such bears lived from about two million years ago to five hundred thousand years ago.

The mass of the giant predator reached two tons, and its height was at least three and a half meters. The cave bear ate lions, woolly rhinoceroses, wolves, tigers, giant moose and deer. He had enormous bite force. In Argentina in 1935, the skeleton of a short-faced cave bear was found. According to National Geographic, there is nothing in the world even remotely similar to such a powerful predator.

In 2006, a huge man-eating grizzly bear was killed in Alaska. If he could stand on his hind legs, he would be about four meters and thirty centimeters tall. The bear's weight turned out to be seven hundred twenty-six kilograms. But the smallest bear, Biruang, according to uznayvse.ru, weighs only 25 kg as an adult. The website has

The smallest bear in the world

A miniature but formidable predator. Biruang is the name of the smallest bear in the world. He is also the rarest bear on the planet. A miniature but formidable predator. Biruang is the name of the smallest bear in the world. He is also the rarest bear on the planet. The unusual animal is also called the Malayan or sun bear. And he really is the smallest representative of the bear family. The height of the clubfoot is no more than one and a half meters, but its weight varies from 25 kilograms to 65 kilograms. However, even despite such small dimensions, the biruang is considered one of the most ferocious bears in the world, if not the most aggressive. However, this opinion exists only in Western countries. And in Asia, for example, the sun bear is called not dangerous. Moreover, the bear is tamed and sometimes kept as a pet.
The smallest bears in the world, like dogs, are quite easy to train. And only mother bears protecting their cubs pose a danger to people. It is worth avoiding angry individuals. If the beast is provoked to attack, then they are truly fearless and fight with all their might, not for life or death, trying to defeat the enemy at any cost.

The smallest bears in the world are dart frogs. Sun bears have rather large, and sickle-shaped claws. The animals have huge paws with completely bare soles. It is this fact that helps biruangs to climb trees well. Of all the bears, it is the smallest bears in the world who love trees the most. Therefore, they are sometimes also called "basindo nan tenggil", which literally means "one who likes to sit high." Biruangas are predominantly nocturnal animals, so individuals can sleep the whole day or lie on convenient tree branches. At a height, they also build themselves something similar to a nest and, without leaving the “house,” feed on fruits and leaves. It is worth noting an interesting fact - Malayan bears never hibernate. Sun bears are omnivores. But, as a rule, they feed on earthworms, insects, fruits, shoots and rhizomes of various plants. A distinctive feature of the Biruang is its unusually long tongue. It reaches 20-25 centimeters. This part of the body is very sticky and thin. And she helps the bear get his favorite treat - honey from the hives. Hence another name for the smallest bear in the world – “honey bear”. By the way, the animal does not mind eating not only honey, but also bees. Sometimes biruangs also absorb birds, lizards and small mammals. The powerful jaws of the specimens help them easily crack even coconuts. Malayan bears are found in southern China, northeast India, Thailand, Myanmar, as well as on the island of Borneo, the Indochina Peninsula and Indonesia.

The miniature bear differs from its relatives not only in its amazingly long tongue. The biruang's fur is stiffer, shorter and smoother. And this is explained by the fact that the animal lives in a fairly warm climate. The color of the sun bear is black, and there is a large light spot on its chest. It looks like a horseshoe and is shaped like the rising sun. And from here came the name of the entire genus of small bears - “Helarctos”. The first part of the word is translated as sun, and the second – bear. All together it turns out to be a sun bear. Biruangs live up to 25 years, but this is in captivity. But in the wild, the smallest bear in the world, its life and habits have been studied quite poorly. However, we can say with confidence that under human care these animals live much longer. Truly a clubfoot! Teddy bear is a phrase that everyone knows from childhood, biruang makes it true. Scientists have noted the interesting gait of the Malayan bear. All four paws turn inward when walking. But the sun bear's vision is not so good. But poor vision is compensated by an excellent sense of smell and hearing. Enemies of the little bear The main enemy of the sun bear has always been and remains man. Biruangs easily defeat almost any predator. They, as they said, are very strong in battle, so the neighbors in the forest prefer to give the baby a wide berth. But sometimes conflicts with leopards and tigers still occur. The largest predators try to grab their opponent by the throat. But bears can avoid such an attack, because they have very loose skin on their necks, which allows the biruang to “slip out” from the mouth of a leopard or tiger and strike back with a crushing blow.

But leaving a person is not so easy. Humans have already caused almost irreparable damage to the population of the world's smallest bears. Even five thousand years ago, Chinese people used bear bile for medicinal purposes - to treat bacterial infections. Now the situation has not changed. But on the island of Borneo, animal fur is used to sew hats. Trophy hunting for the Malayan bear is also popular among people. Farmers shoot the animal for the simple reason that the clubfoot is capable of causing damage to coconut and banana plantations. It is for these reasons that biruangs are now the rarest species of bear. They are listed in the International Red Book. However, the number of Malayan bears is only decreasing every year. Touching predator One way or another, Malayan bears can be called shy and timid. They usually prefer to avoid a person, not show themselves to him, and generally stay away from him. But in Asia, a tamed biruang is not a rare sight. The animal can calmly walk around the owner’s house without supervision and play with interest with the children. By the way, Malayan bears are very smart. There is a story about a certain bear who once surprised his owners. The animal did not eat the rice offered to him, but scattered it on the ground, sat down next to him and began to wait for something. A little later, the birds came to dine on rice, and the cunning Biruang dined on the birds. Curiously, the mating season of the biruang is not limited to one season. Mating of the smallest bears in the world can occur throughout the year. After a 95-day pregnancy, the female gives birth to 1-2 cubs, sometimes three. Blind, naked and helpless newborns weigh approximately 300 grams. They remain under the protection of their mother for up to 2.5 years.

Today, the largest bear in the world is the Kodiak. Moreover, it is also the largest predator living on land. The Kodiak lives on the islands of the archipelago of the same name, located off the southern coast of Alaska. The weight of these brown giants often reaches a ton, and the height at the withers is 1.6 meters. This one does not feed on big game at all, as one might think. The basis of its diet is berries, herbs, roots, carrion and fish. Despite its impressive size, the Kodiak is endangered. Today its population numbers about three thousand individuals. The reason for this reduction in numbers was a person who uncontrollably exterminated these beautiful ones. Since 1941, Kodiak has been under state protection. Only 160 individuals are allowed to be shot per year.

Grizzly

Bears living in Alaska and Canada are, as a rule, somewhat smaller than Kodiaks, however, there are real giants among them. From Latin, the name of this species is “terrible bear”, and some individuals fully justify this. The basis of the grizzly bear's diet is plant foods, but about 10% prefer a meat diet. Living nearby in the village, they can hunt cattle and sometimes people. This bear is not human and fiercely enters into battle, from which it is not so easy for people to come out alive. However, with the invention of weapons, man began to gain the upper hand over the terrible enemy. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the grizzly bear population declined so much that they had to be protected. Today these bears, whose length was 4.3 meters. The remains of two people were found in the stomach of a huge animal, which was recognized as the largest grizzly bear in the world, which it had eaten in the last 72 hours.

Polar bear

The polar bear is another impressively sized predator, which can reach three meters in length and weigh tons. The polar bear eats exclusively meat, which is necessary for its survival in the polar regions of the northern hemisphere of the earth. Fortunately, its diet mainly consists of marine animals such as seals and walruses, as well as fish, and it rarely attacks humans.

Greetings, dear readers of the site “I and the World”! Today you will learn about the largest bears in the world: their habits and habitat, which specimens are very dangerous and which are quite harmless. But, in any case, it is undesirable to meet with them; the outcome of this meeting is unlikely to be in your favor.

From Russian fairy tales we know about bears as clumsy and stupid animals. Because of their weight, they really seem slow, but this is not so, they can reach such speed that it is difficult to escape from them even on a bicycle. You should get to know them better in order to know what to expect from them if you meet them by chance while traveling around the world, as well as: what they look like, how much they weigh, where they live, etc.

And our rating opens with “Black Bear” or Baribal

His black coat glistens in the sun of the USA and Canada. Less common in northern Mexico. It is in these countries that this animal lives and weighs from 300 to 360 kg.

The largest male is 363 kg. It was killed in Canada - this is the largest Baribal ever caught by man. The animals are quite harmless. They do not attack people or domestic animals and live quietly and peacefully, eating plant foods and fish.

Very rarely, when there is not enough food, Baribal can drag off livestock. With a height of up to two meters, Baribal cubs are born so small that their weight ranges from 200 to 400 grams.

In captivity: in zoos and circuses they can live up to 30 years, but in nature only 10. Now there are about 600,000 individuals.

In 4th place - American Grizzly

Among brown bears, he is the strongest, but not so big. The grizzly bear is very resilient and if there is a fight with another large animal, the animal has an instant grip, which leads to victory. It is considered friendly, but if there is not enough food or feels aggression, the kind nature disappears. The Grizzly's rather strong sense of smell allows it to sense prey at a great distance. It feeds on plant foods, loves fish, and like any predator, does not refuse animal food.

It lives in Alaska and western Canada and reaches 450 kg.

Grizzly in translation means “terrible”, but it does not try to attack people just like that, but only when it is hungry or very angry. In such rare cases, Grizzly was said to be a cannibal. During the rest of the time when it is rich in prey, it is not dangerous.

Brown Siberian bear takes third place

The dimensions of the Russian Siberian reach: weight up to 800 kg, and height up to 2.5 meters. This is a big fish lover, living near the Anadyr, Kolyma and Yenisei rivers. Sometimes found in Chinese provinces.

Although the warm season in these places is short, there is a lot of plant and animal food and allows you to gain a lot of weight.

Siberians are loners and hibernate during the winter. They fish very interestingly: when salmon jump out of the water, the bears try to catch them in the air.

2nd place – one of the brown specimens – Kodiak

They live on the shores of Alaska on Kodiak Island. The brown beast got its name from this island. The largest bear in the world among the brown species. A muscular animal with long legs, the Kodiak easily obtains numerous foods.

They grow 2.6 meters long and gain up to 1000 kg. The height of an adult predator can be up to 2.8 meters.

There was a time when animals could completely disappear, and therefore they were prohibited from being shot. Now their number is increasing, but so far only 3000.

They do not attack people, and therefore do not pose a danger to tourists. But for the animals themselves, these encounters are quite unpleasant. Animals, frightened by strangers, stop eating normally and gain too little fat before hibernation. And an animal caught for the sake of keeping it in a zoo may simply not survive in captivity.

And finally, first place - Polar Bear

Wikipedia believes that the white bear is the world's largest bear, living in the Arctic and reaching a mass of 1 ton or even more. This predatory animal reaches 3 meters in length - how huge!

This is a real record in weight among all species. Can you imagine such a huge beast, like a white steamer, slowly moving among the snow. There is also fur on the paws, so they move easily on the ice and do not freeze in the most severe frosts.

On the island of Spitsbergen there are even more polar bears than people living there. The long neck with a flat head allows it to stretch out and see far.

It is clear that living among the snow on drifting ice, it feeds on animal food: sea hare, fish, walruses, arctic foxes. Just like brown ones, they live alone and until about 30 years old. Only females hibernate when they are pregnant, in order to gain strength to raise the next generation.

There are 28,000 polar bears all over the world, and about 6,000 in Russia alone. And although hunting them is strictly prohibited, poachers kill up to 200 bears every year.

In the photo you saw the largest bears on earth. They are all listed in the Red Book, but poachers do not think about this, destroying animals for the sake of a beautiful skin. Over the entire history of mankind, so many of these animals have been destroyed that many populations are difficult to increase again.

We say goodbye to you until our next meetings on the pages of our website. If you liked the article, share it with your friends, they will also be interested in it.

The largest bear on the planet is known as the Kodiak. It is one of the subspecies of brown bears and is under government protection in most countries. In terms of its size, this animal surpasses not only its relatives, but even the “king of beasts”. The average male weighs more than 700 kilograms, and the female weighs about 300 kilograms. At the same time, it should be noted that there were Kodiak individuals whose weight exceeded the one ton mark. When answering the question about which bear is the largest, you need to take into account the nuance that in the summer these animals weigh about a third more than after hibernation. Be that as it may, there is no other land predator with such dimensions.

The animal has a compact and at the same time strong, muscular body with a short tail. His head is large and his legs are long. The largest bear on the planet has dark brown fur, which in some individuals is almost black. Despite the fact that the Kodiak is considered a predator, it feeds on a variety of foods. Most often it becomes fish that come to spawn in local shallow rivers. In addition, the animal often eats nuts, berries and various roots. As for hunting other animals, this happens only in exceptional cases.

According to their lifestyle, these animals are solitary and never form herds. Only during the breeding season, which falls in the summer, do pairs form. A female Kodiak usually gives birth to one to three cubs every four years, usually in winter. They stay with her until she is four years old. The largest brown bear is considered adult when it is six years old. After being weaned from their mother, small males try to move away from her, while females, on the contrary, try to stay as close as possible. She, in turn, always comes to the rescue when danger arises. In this regard, the survival rate for cubs is 56 and 80 percent, respectively.

The predator's habitat is the islands of the Kodiak archipelago on the southern coast of Alaska. The largest bear is the main local attraction and attracts a large number of tourists every year. Currently, there are approximately three thousand individuals of this animal on the planet, so hunting for it is strictly limited by law. The allowed shooting of Kodiaks is a maximum of 160 individuals per year.

In terms of size, Kodiaks are almost equal only to polar bears. They differ from their brown relatives only in their place of residence and fur color. Moreover, this variety tolerates severe frosts better, and the structure of their paws allows them to run faster on ice. The animal lives on the islands of the Arctic. Often the title of “largest bear” is given to him. The predator feeds mainly on ringed fish and fish, which it can detect with its sense of smell at a distance of up to six hundred meters. The animal is an excellent swimmer and can cover a distance of five hundred kilometers in a few days. Currently, there are approximately 27 thousand individuals of this animal left on the planet, and hunting for it is strictly limited.