Polar Bear vs Grizzly Bear: How to Tell Them Apart

These two bears are easy to distinguish once you know what to look for. First, consider color. Polar bears are white or cream-colored, often with a yellowish tinge from seal oils. Grizzly bears are brown, tan, or cinnamon colored. If you see a white bear on ice, it is a polar bear. If you see a brown bear on land or in mountains, it is a grizzly. Second, check the profile and neck. Polar bears have longer, more slender necks and narrow, elongated heads. Grizzly bears have shorter, thicker necks and massive heads with a distinctive shoulder hump that rises above the back. Third, look at the ears. Polar bears have smaller, more rounded ears. Grizzly bears have larger, more pointed ears. These three features together make identification certain from any distance.

Polar bears are larger than grizzly bears overall. Adult male polar bears weigh 990 to 1600 pounds and stand 8 to 10 feet tall. Adult male grizzly bears weigh 300 to 850 pounds and stand 6 to 7 feet tall. Female polar bears weigh 330 to 650 pounds, while female grizzlies weigh 130 to 400 pounds. Polar bears have evolved for life on ice and in water. Their body is streamlined with a longer torso and neck for reaching into breathing holes to catch seals. Their feet are large and furry to grip ice. Grizzly bears are powerfully built for land. They have strong shoulders and a distinctive hump of muscle over the front quarters, which helps them dig for roots, ground squirrels, and other prey. Polar bears appear lanky compared to the compact, muscular grizzly.

These bears have completely separate ranges with no overlap in the wild. Polar bears live only in the Arctic, circling the North Pole. In North America, they inhabit the coasts and ice floes of northern Alaska, Canada, and the Arctic islands. They spend most of their time on sea ice hunting seals. Grizzly bears live in the mountains and wilderness of western North America. The largest populations are in Alaska and British Columbia, with smaller populations in the northern Rocky Mountains of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. Grizzly ranges include high elevation forests, tundra, and alpine meadows. Polar bears are ice specialists that cannot survive in warm climates. Grizzly bears thrive in varied habitats from sea level to high mountains. The Arctic is too ice-bound and remote for grizzlies. Mountains are too warm and sealed-poor for polar bears. Visit /wildlife/alaska/grizzly-bear to learn about grizzly range in Alaska.

Polar bears are marine hunters almost exclusively dependent on seals. They hunt by waiting at breathing holes or polynya openings in ice, then striking fast when seals surface. A polar bear may travel 40 miles across ice to find a seal colony. They are excellent swimmers and often hunt in water. Polar bears are solitary except during mating or when females raise cubs. They are aggressive toward other bears and humans, as they are not accustomed to terrestrial predators or prey. Grizzly bears are omnivorous and highly adaptable. They eat salmon during spawning runs, dig for ground squirrels and roots, strip berry bushes, and eat vegetation. In fall, they forage intensively to gain weight for hibernation. Grizzly bears are generally solitary but may congregate at abundant food sources like fish runs. They are less aggressive than polar bears but more aggressive than black bears. Grizzlies rely on speed and power, while polar bears rely on patience and hunting skill.

In the wild, these bears are so geographically separated that you would rarely see one and wonder which it was. However, if you encountered a bear in the Arctic, the question would be simple. Polar bears live only on ice and Arctic coasts. If you are on Arctic sea ice or frozen ocean, any bear present is a polar bear. Grizzly bears are land-based. If you are in the mountains, tundra, or wilderness of western North America, any bear you see is a grizzly. Color is the most obvious tell if you had any doubt. White or cream-colored equals polar bear. Brown, tan, or cinnamon equals grizzly. If somehow you saw both, the shoulder hump on the grizzly is unmistakable. Polar bears have no hump. The neck length also differs. Polar bears appear long-necked and slender. Grizzlies appear thick-necked and powerful. Learn about grizzly range in Wyoming for reference.

One common myth is that grizzly bears live in the Arctic. They do not. The Arctic is too cold, too ice-bound, and has too few terrestrial plants for grizzlies to thrive. Polar bears cannot survive in grizzly habitat because there are no seals to hunt and the climate is too warm. Another myth is that polar bears are just white grizzlies. They are not. Polar bears and grizzly bears evolved from a common ancestor many thousands of years ago but have diverged into separate species with different anatomy, behavior, and ecology. Some people think polar bears are moving south and competing with grizzlies. This occasionally happens in coastal areas where warming ice pushes polar bears onto land, but it is rare. Polar bears and grizzlies have different prey preferences and do not directly compete. A third myth is that polar bears are more dangerous than grizzlies. Both are dangerous predators. Polar bears are more aggressive toward humans, but grizzlies can be just as lethal if surprised. The best strategy with any bear is to avoid encounters, make noise in bear country, and respect their space always.