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The Eurasian or European brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) is one of the most typical subspecies of the brown bear and is found in much of Northern Eurasia.
The Eurasian brown bear has brown fur, a robust bone structure, and massive paws equipped with claws that can grow up to 10 cm or 3.9 inches long. The animals’ weight varies depending on their habitat and the time of the year. A full-grown male weighs on average 250-300 kilograms (550-660 lb), reaches a maximum weight of 481 kilograms (1,060 lb), and is nearly 2.5 meters or 8.2 feet long. Females weigh 150-250 kilograms (550 lb). The Eurasian brown bear has a lifespan of 20 to 30 years in the wild.
Brown bears are habituated across most of Eurasia, compared to today’s more restricted range.
This species has long been extinct in the British Isles (at least 1,500 years ago, probably even 3,000 years ago), Denmark (about 4,500 years ago), the Netherlands (about 1,000 years ago), Belgium and Luxembourg, with more recent extinctions in Germany (in the year 1835, although singles straying from Italy were recorded in 2006 and 2019), Switzerland (in 1904, although a single was noticed in 1923 and since 2005 there has been an increasing number of sightings of wanderers from Italy), and Portugal (in 1843, although a wanderer from Spain was recorded in 2019).
Globally, the largest population is in the extensive Siberian forests east of the Ural mountain range.
The largest brown bear population in Europe is in Russia. In addition, about 3 thousand bears live in Sweden, 2 thousand in Finland, 1.1 thousand in Estonia, and approximately 100 in Norway.
Large populations can also be seen in Romania (about 6 thousand), Slovakia (about 1.2 thousand), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia (1.2 thousand), Slovenia (about 600), North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Poland, Turkey, and Georgia.
