Bear, any of eight species of large short-tailed carnivores found in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The sun bear is the smallest, often weighing less than 50 kg (110 pounds).

The American black bear is the most common bear species in North America, ranging from Alaska down to Mexico. They are usually black or dark brown in color, with a light-colored muzzle and some white or blond fur around their chest and neck.

While several bear species of today are vulnerable to extinction, only a few bear species or subspecies have become extinct in recent history. This includes the Californian grizzly bear in the 1920s and the Mexican grizzly bear in the 1960s.

They can be as small as four feet long and about 60 pounds (the sun bear) to as big as eight feet long and more than a thousand pounds (the polar bear). They’re found throughout North America...

What is a bear - what family they belong to, what they are related to, where they live, are they carnivores, behavioral characteristics, pictures, and more.

The North American Bear Center is the only black bear and wildlife educational facility of its kind. Dedicated to replacing old myths with facts, it lets people learn from the bears themselves about bear behavior, ecology, and their relations with humans.

From the small and adorable sun bear, to the massive and majestic polar bear – species of the bear family are found on almost every continent on Earth.