The Largest Grizzly Bear Ever Recorded: A Fascinating Discovery

Grizzly bears have a reputation as ferocious, horrifying predators that most people try to avoid. Even their taxonomic name, Ursus arctos horribilis, translates to horrible bear. The incredible grizzly bear’s size, speed, strength, and senses make it very dangerous. Which brings up the question: just how big can they get? Already large to begin with, just how big is the largest grizzly bear on record? Continue reading to discover the answer and more.

Grizzly Bear: Overview

Grizzly bears are a subspecies of brown bears that currently live in North America. There are more subspecies of brown bears 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.

Grizzly bears are omnivores that eat a diet of both plants and animals. Approximately 30% of a grizzly’s diet consists of meat from large prey such as bison, caribou, deer, elk, moose, and sheep. Grizzly bears also eat bass, salmon, and trout. The herbivorous components of their diet include grasses, nuts, tubers, and berries.

Grizzly Bear Size

Grizzly bears are heaviest when preparing for hibernation. The time before hibernation is characterized by hyperphagia, which is excessive eating. Grizzlies can pack on an additional 100 pounds in preparation for hibernation. During winter, when food is scarce, grizzly bears hibernate, subsisting on the resources they have accumulated before winter.

Adult grizzly bears can stand up to eight feet tall and weigh between 400-600 pounds (males) and 250-350 pounds (females). So, how big was the largest documented grizzly?

The Largest Grizzly Bear Ever Recorded

The largest grizzly bear ever recorded was not alive when discovered. Its measurements were determined by a skull found by a taxidermist in 1976. Found near Lone Mountain, Alaska, the skull measured 27 and 13/16 inches. In 2014, the second largest grizzly skull was recorded by a hunter who shot a bear with a skull measuring 27 and 6/16th inches. Since grizzly bears are so large and often skinned where they are felled, their weight is not the measurement that is typically used, though these grizzlies were estimated to weigh about 1,200 pounds.

Grizzly Bears vs. Other Bear Species

Brown bears are one of eight bear species. There are numerous subspecies within each species, including the grizzly bear. The largest of all bear species, and one of the largest land mammals in North America, is the polar bear (Ursus maritimus). Male polar bears typically weigh between 770-1,540 pounds. The smallest bear species is the sun bear which typically weighs between 55 and 143 pounds.

How are grizzly bears doing today?

Grizzly bear populations have been decreasing over the past several decades. Outside of Alaska, only 1,500 grizzly bears live in the United States. The once-abundant California grizzly bear that adorns the California state flag is now extinct. Conservation efforts have included the establishment of protected areas and parks, protection under the Endangered Species Act, and attempts to connect populations that have been reproductively isolated due to human-made barriers. A notable organization at the forefront of grizzly bear conservation efforts in the lower 48 states is the Interagency Grizzly Bear Recovery Committee. This committee has designated five different “recovery zones” within which they implement various monitoring and conservation strategies. Grizzly bears, as a subspecies, do not have a conservation status listed by the IUCN Red List.