Discover the Largest Kodiak Bear Ever Recorded

Written by Cindy Rasmussen
Updated: August 22, 2023
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If you are out on a long hike or camping you’re probably hoping you don’t run into any bears. For some hunters, it’s the opposite and they purposely go out looking for bears. Hunting of Kodiak bears is limited and strictly controlled.

While the population of Kodiaks appears to be stable, there is concern about their numbers decreasing due to more humans moving into their range.

Polar bears are the largest bear species but not by much, brown bears, which include Kodiak bears are almost as big.

Kodiak bears are a subspecies of brown bears and only live in the Kodiak Archipelago of Alaska. It is hard to imagine how big these bears can get. Let’s take a look at the largest Kodiak bear ever recorded.

What Is a Kodiak Bear?

kodiak vs grizzly

The Kodiak bear is the largest subspecies of the brown bear.

©iStock.com/Jess Bray

Kodiak bears are a subspecies of brown bears. There are eight species of bears:

Kodiak bears have been isolated from other bear populations for 12,000 years, so they really are a unique species. There are around 3,500 Kodiak bears alive, which is a healthy population. Kodiak bears have dense brown fur, powerful legs, and sharp claws. You can tell the difference between a black bear and Kodiak by the hump on their back.

They can rear up on their hind legs and stand upright, with the largest reaching 10 feet tall. Think about that, your average ceiling is 8 feet tall so it is well beyond that! The males can weigh 1,500 lbs or more with the females weighing a bit less.

There has been some debate on how to categorize bears but it seems most have landed on there being two subspecies of brown bears, Kodiak and Grizzly.

How Rare Are Kodiak Bear Sightings?

Kodiak bears are a subspecies of brown bears that look similar to grizzly. They are found only in the Kodiak Archipelago in Alaska. While this subspecies of bears are not normally found on the mainland, they are relatively common on the islands.

Sightings of Kodiak bears are not rare in that sense, however, sightings highly depend on human activity. This subspecies of brown bear are very wary of humans and will avoid contact, although, they do not typically show signs of aggression, it’s important to remember to treat them with caution and respect.

While there is no exact number of Kodiak bear sightings that take place every year, as it largely depends on a number of factors, such as the location, time of year, and level of human activity in the area. There are only 496 bear permits that are available during certain hunting seasons.

It is also worth noting that while some people may report sightings of Kodiak bears, not all of these sightings may be accurate or verified. In addition, some bear encounters may not be reported at all.

How Do Kodiak Bears Compare to Grizzly Bears?

kodiak vs grizzly
Kodiak bears are larger than Grizzly bears.

Kodiak bears are the largest of the brown bears, with polar bears being a little larger than Kodiaks. There has been some debate as to how to categorize bears but it seems most have landed on there being two subspecies of brown bears, Kodiak and Grizzly.

In North America, the bears that live along the coast like Washington state and California are called “brown bears” or “coastal brown bears” and the bears that are more on the interior like Montana, Idaho, and Yellowstone are called Grizzlies. Kodiak bears are larger than brown bears and Grizzlies.

Where Is Kodiak Island, Alaska?

Kodiak Island is located south of the mainland of Alaska. There is a 1.9 million acre wildlife refuge on the island that includes the only Kodiak bear population. President Roosevelt established the refuge with the main purpose of providing a safe home to the Kodiak bears.

What Other Animals Live on Kodiak Island?

The only other native mammals on the island are river otters, bats, red foxes, tundra voles, and short-tailed weasels. Other mammals have been introduced over the years. These include beavers, caribou, elks, martens, mountain goats, red squirrels, Sitka black-tailed deer, and snowshoe hares.

The coasts of the island include visits from harbor seals, sea otters, porpoises, and a variety of whales.

The Largest Kodiak Bear Ever Recorded

The largest Kodiak Bear ever recorded was a captive bear named Clyde. He was a Kodiak bear that lived at the Dakota Zoo in Bismarck, North Dakota. His weight in June 1987 was 2,130 lbs! Bears in captivity typically weigh more than wild bears so that gives him the edge.

He was the main attraction at the zoo for years and had a companion bear, named Bonnie. He was reportedly 9 feet tall and lived to be 22 years old. Of course, there could be larger Kodiak bears in the wild but finding them and measuring them is difficult.

Where Is Dakota Zoo Located on a Map?

Clyde the Kodiak bear was housed at Dakota Zoo, located in North Dakota’s capital city Bismarck. The zoo is on the banks of the Missouri River. It’s around 10 minutes drive, or a little over 4 miles, from Bismarck Airport.

How Big Was “Bart the Bear” From Movies Such as The Bear, White Fang, and Legends of the Fall?

Bart the Bear was a famous Kodiak bear that was trained to be an animal actor. His trainers were Doug and Lynn Sues, who worked with Bart on several films including the starring role in The Bear. Bart was born in captivity at the Baltimore Zoo (known as The Maryland Zoo) in 1977 and lived until the year 2000.

Seeing a picture of Bart standing next to his trainer is an impressive comparison to his size. Bart was taller than Clyde, the record holder as the largest Kodiak bear, but he was nowhere close to Clyde’s weight. Bart only weighed a lean 1,500 lbs, which is more than your average Kodiak bear!

Guinness World Record for “Largest Bear”

Guinness gave the record to a whole species of bear, not a specific bear. The “Largest Bear” record goes to polar bears! Polar bears live in Arctic Canada, Russia, and Greenland but most live north of the Arctic Circle. Polar bears weigh between 880 and 1,320 lb and are between 7 ft 10 in and 8 ft 6 in. Guinness declared the Polar bear as the largest bear but gave a shout-out to the Kodiak bear as comparably heavy but not quite as long as the polar bear.

The Largest Polar Bear Ever Recorded

12 Animals of Christmas From Around the World - polar bear

The largest polar bear ever was 2,209 pounds! It was also extremely tall at 11 feet and 1 inch.

©Vaclav Sebek/Shutterstock.com

Let’s compare the largest Kodiak ever to the largest polar bear ever! The largest polar bear ever was 2,209 pounds! That is 79 pounds heavier than Clyde, the largest Kodiak bear. This polar bear was a wild bear found in the Kotzebue Sound, Alaska in 1960.

This was before wildlife conservation was more common so this bear was unfortunately shot, killed, and mounted. He was an impressive 11 feet 1 inch tall, taller than Clyde and Bart.

Your average polar bear is around 8 feet tall.

Can You Hunt Kodiak Bears?

Kodiak bear hunting is strictly regulated with 496 permits issued per year.

©Steve Hillebrand, USFWS / Free to use CC0, Pixnio – License

The Kodiak bear population is strictly regulated by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Due to the continuing healthy population of Kodiak bears, each year about 180 Kodiak bears are killed during the hunting season each year. You must either be a resident of Alaska or hire a professional guide (at the cost of $10,000-$21,000) to hunt. There are only 496 bear permits issued each year and more than 5,000 people apply.

Can You Hunt Polar Bears?

Do Bears Have Tails

Hunting polar bears is illegal in North America. However, Alaskan natives are the only ones permitted to hunt these apex predators.

©Mario_Hoppmann/Shutterstock.com

Yes, but with restrictions. Alaskan natives are allowed to hunt polar bears, but otherwise, it is illegal in the United States. It is still legal in Canada. Polar bears are a vulnerable species and highly protected. The IUCN has the polar bear officially listed as “Vulnerable”, but the last listed date of assessment was August 2015.

Conservationists are worried about the effect of climate change on the polar bear’s habitat and they are hoping to get a new assessment to see how things have changed in the last seven years.

Kodiak Bear vs. Polar Bear? Who Would Win a Fight?

polar bear vs kodiak bear
What would happen if a polar bear was in a fight with a Kodiak bear? It would be a close fight for sure!

We may never know because polar bears do not live on the Kodiak Islands. Check out this article that explains the differences between these two massive bears!

How Long Do Kodiac Bears Live?

Grizzly bear

Kodiak bears can live for more than four decades in captivity.

©Perpis/Shutterstock.com

Members of this species are rather longed lived compared to other apex predators such as wolves, which can live for 16 years; pumas, which live for 13 years; or wolverines, which also live for 13 years.

Kodiak bears can live for 20 or even 25 years, just like their other ursine relatives. The massive bears are even capable of living up to 30 years and some have been known to live for longer than 40 years under human care.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/Jess Bray


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About the Author

I'm a Wildlife Conservation Author and Journalist, raising awareness about conservation by teaching others about the amazing animals we share the planet with. I graduated from the University of Minnesota-Morris with a degree in Elementary Education and I am a former teacher. When I am not writing I love going to my kids' soccer games, watching movies, taking on DIY projects and running with our giant Labradoodle "Tango".

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