Kodiak bear

The Kodiak bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi), also known as the Kodiak brown bear and sometimes the Alaskan brown bear, inhabits the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago in southwest Alaska. It is one of the largest recognized subspecies or population of the brown bear, and one of the two largest bears alive today, the other being the polar bear. They are also considered by some to be a population of grizzly bears.

Physiologically and physically, the Kodiak bear is very similar to the other brown bear subspecies, such as the mainland grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) and the extinct California grizzly bear (U. a. californicus), with the main difference being size, as Kodiak bears are on average 1.5 to 2 times larger than their cousins. Despite this large variation in size, the diet and lifestyle of the Kodiak bear do not differ greatly from those of other brown bears.

Kodiak bears have interacted with humans for centuries, especially hunters and other people in the rural coastal regions of the archipelago. The bears are hunted for sport and are encountered by hunters pursuing other species. Less frequently, Kodiak bears are killed by people whose property (such as livestock) or person are threatened. In recent history there has been an increasing focus on conservation and protection of the Kodiak bear population as human activity in its range increases. The IUCN classifies the brown bear (Ursus arctos), of which the Kodiak is a subspecies, as being of "least concern" in terms of endangerment or extinction, though the IUCN does not differentiate between subspecies and thus does not provide a conservation status for the Kodiak population. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, along with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to a lesser extent, closely monitor the size and health of the population and the number of bears hunted in the state.

Taxonomist C.H. Merriam was the first to recognize the Kodiak bear as a unique subspecies of the brown bear, and he named it "Ursus middendorffi" in honor of the celebrated Baltic naturalist, Dr. A. Th. von Middendorff. Subsequent taxonomic work merged all North American brown bears into a single species (Ursus arctos). Genetic samples from bears on Kodiak have shown that they are most closely related to brown bears on the Alaska Peninsula and Kamchatka, Russia, and all brown bears roughly north of the US. Kodiak bears have been genetically isolated since at least the last ice age (10,000 to 12,000 years ago) and very little genetic diversity exists within the population. Although the current population is healthy, productive, and has shown no overt adverse signs of inbreeding, it may be more susceptible to new diseases or parasites than other, more diverse brown bear populations.

Hair colors range from pale blonde to orange (typically females or bears from southern parts of the archipelago) to dark brown. Cubs will often retain a white "natal ring" around their neck for the first few years of life. The Kodiak bear's color is similar to that of its close relatives, the mainland American Grizzly bear and Eurasian brown bears.

While there is generally much variation in size between brown bears in different areas, most usually weigh between 115 and 360 kg (254 and 794 lb); the Kodiak bear illustrates island gigantism, commonly reaching sizes of 300 to 600 kg (660 to 1,320 lb). The size range for females (sows) is from 181 to 318 kg (399 to 701 lb), and for males (boars), it is 272 to 635 kg (600 to 1,400 lb). Mature males average 477–534 kg (1,052–1,177 lb) over the course of the year, and can weigh up to 680 kg (1,500 lb) at peak times. Females are typically about 20% smaller and 30% lighter than males, and adult sizes are attained when they are six years old. Bears weigh the least when they emerge from their dens in the spring, and can increase their weight by 20–30% during late summer and autumn. As with other animals, captive Kodiak bears can sometimes weigh considerably more than their wild counterparts.

An average adult male measures 244 cm (8 ft 0 in) in length, and stands 133 cm (4 ft 4 in) tall at the shoulder. The largest recorded wild male weighed 751 kg (1,656 lb), and had a hind foot measurement of 46 cm (18 in). A large male Kodiak bear stands up to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall at the shoulder when it is standing on all four legs. When standing fully upright on its hind legs, a large male could reach a height of 3 m (9.8 ft). The largest verified size for a captive Kodiak bear was for a specimen that lived at the Dakota Zoo in Bismarck, North Dakota. Nicknamed "Clyde", he weighed 966 kg (2,130 lb) when he died in June 1987 at the age of 22. According to zoo director Terry Lincoln, Clyde probably weighed close to 1,089 kg (2,400 lb) a year earlier. He still had a fat layer of 9 in (23 cm) when he died..

Kodiak bears are the largest brown bear and are even comparable in size to polar bears. This makes Kodiak bears and polar bears the two largest members of the bear family and the largest extant terrestrial carnivorans.