The awe-inspiring brown bear lives in the forests and mountains of northern North America, Europe, and Asia. It is the most widely distributed bear in the world.

The world's largest brown bears are found in coastal British Columbia and Alaska, and on islands such as Kodiak.

Brown bears dig dens for winter hibernation, often holing up in a suitable hillside. Females, or she-bears, den while pregnant and give birth during this winter rest, usually to a pair of cubs. Brown bear cubs nurse on their mother's milk until spring and stay with her for some two and a half years—so females only reproduce once every three years.

Adult brown bears are powerful, top-of-the-food chain predators, but much of their diet consists of