The Largest Grizzly Bear Ever Recorded: A Fascinating Discovery

Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) have a reputation as ferocious, fearsome predators that most people try to avoid; even their scientific name translates to horrible bear. The grizzly bear’s size, speed, strength, and senses make it extremely dangerous. However, fatal grizzly bear attacks are relatively rare, with two to three per year in North America. Continue reading to learn about the largest grizzly, among other facts about the species.

Grizzly Bear: Overview

Grizzly bears are a subspecies of brown bear (Ursus arctos) found in North America. Brown bears have more subspecies than any other bear species. Despite the wide geographic distribution of brown bears around the world, grizzly bears live only in Alaska, Western Canada, and the Northwestern United States.

Grizzlies are the third-largest bear subspecies, after the polar bear (Ursus maritimus)and Kodiak bears (Ursus arctos middendorffi). Grizzlies typically weigh between 400 to 600 pounds for males and 250 to 350 pounds for females. They stand between 3.5 and 4.5 feet tall at the shoulder when on all fours, and can reach over 8 feet tall when standing on their hind legs. 

Grizzly bears are omnivores, eating both plants and animals. Approximately 30% of their diet consists of meat from large prey like bison, caribou, deer, elk, moose, and sheep. They also eat fish such as bass, salmon, and trout. The plant portion of their diet includes grasses, nuts, tubers, and berries.

Grizzly bears reach their heaviest weight as they prepare for hibernation. This period is characterized by hyperphagia, excessive eating. Grizzlies can gain up to 100 pounds during this time. During winter, when food is scarce, grizzly bears hibernate and survive on the fat reserves they have built up beforehand.

The Largest Grizzly Bear Ever Recorded

The largest grizzly bear ever recorded was found deceased. Its size was determined by a skull discovered in 1976 near Lone Mountain, Alaska, which measured 27 and 13/16 inches. In 2014, a hunter recorded the second-largest grizzly skull after shooting a bear; the skull measured 27 and 3/8 inches. Because grizzly bears are so large and are often skinned at the site where they are killed, their weight is not typically measured. However, these particular bears were estimated to weigh approximately 1,200 pounds.

How Grizzly Bears Fare Today

Grizzly bear populations have been decreasing over the past several decades. Outside of Alaska, approximately 1,900 grizzly bears are living in the United States as of 2025. The once-abundant California grizzly bear (Ursus arctos californicus) that adorns the California state flag is now extinct. Conservation efforts have included establishing protected areas and parks, providing protection under the Endangered Species Act, and attempting to connect populations that have become reproductively isolated due to human-made barriers. A notable organization at the forefront of grizzly bear conservation is the Interagency Grizzly Bear Recovery Committee. This committee has designated five different recovery zones where it implements various monitoring and conservation strategies. The IUCN Red List assesses the brown bear species (Ursus arctos), which includes grizzly bears, as Least Concern, but does not list a separate status for the grizzly bear subspecies.