Brown bear or grizzly bear?
How to tell them apart
Same species: “grizzly” is the name for inland North American brown bears. Every grizzly is a brown bear, but not every brown bear is a grizzly.
Quick answers
They give the same 8 quick answers, so in the game it comes down to the clues below.
| Question | Brown bear | Grizzly bear |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | Mammal | Mammal |
| Carnivore? | Omnivore | Omnivore |
| Dangerous? | Yes | Yes |
| Domesticated? | No | No |
| Awake when? | Day & night | Day & night |
| Hibernates? | Yes | Yes |
| Kept as a pet? | No | No |
| Do people eat it? | In places | In places |
At a glance
| Question | Brown bear | Grizzly bear |
|---|---|---|
| Found in differs | North America, Europe, Asia | North America |
| Habitat | Forest, Mountains, Grassland | Forest, Mountains, Grassland |
| Size | Huge | Huge |
| Length differs | 1–2.8 m | – |
| Weight differs | 80–600 kg | – |
| Legs | 4 | 4 |
| Covered in | Fur | Fur |
| Lives | Alone | Alone |
| Lives for | 20–25 years | 20–25 years |
| Can fly | No | No |
| Swims | Yes | Yes |
| Lays eggs | No | No |
About each
Brown bear
A huge, mostly plant-eating bear of northern forests, mountains and tundra, and one of the largest land carnivores alive. Grizzlies and Kodiak bears are brown bears too.
Everything on the brown bear page
Grizzly bear
The North American brown bear, a population or subspecies of the brown bear. Some brown bears elsewhere, such as the Kodiak and Kamchatka bears, are sometimes also called grizzlies.
Everything on the grizzly bear page
Sources
Last reviewed . The answers and notes come from each animal's own page, where every source is listed.
How each answer is decided: How we answer. More look-alikes: Side by side.