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According to the NWF, many North Americans use "grizzly bear" to describe smaller and lighter-colored bears that live in interior areas, and "brown bear" for larger and darker bears in coastal areas. "Grizzly bear" is a common (rather than a scientific) name, so it doesn’t necessarily correspond to a specific subspecies. These grizzlies inhabited California until humans wiped them out in the 1920s, according to the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History (opens in new tab) in California. For example, the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (opens in new tab) (ITIS) recognizes eight brown bear subspecies in North America, including extinct California grizzly bears ( Ursus arctos californicus). Grizzly bears can be grouped together under the subspecies Ursus arctos horribilis, but some sources recognize multiple subspecies.

This includes mainland Alaska, three other U.S. While Kodiak bears are only found on the Kodiak Archipelago in Alaska, grizzly bears live across the rest of their North American range, according to the National Wildlife Federation (opens in new tab) (NWF). North America's brown bears are split into two main groups grizzly bears and Kodiak bears ( Ursus arctos middendorffi). Are grizzly bears and brown bears the same?īrown bears ( Ursus arctos) are the most widely distributed bears in the world and can be found in North America, Europe and northern Asia, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (opens in new tab) (IUCN). Despite their imposing size and appearance, grizzly bears rarely attack humans. However, people commonly believe the word "grizzly" comes from "grisly," which means to cause horror, according to the Center for Biological Diversity (opens in new tab). Grizzly bears are named after their grizzled hair, which can be streaked with strands of gray or silver.