Russian Brown Bears

[brotherbear]

From my book, 'Land of the Bear' by Denny Geurink ( 2014 ). Russia is called Land of the Bear for a reason. Out of the 200,000 brown bears roaming the northern hemisphere in a dozen or more countries, approximately two-thirds of them, or 120,000 bears, reside in Russia. Compare that to the 32,000 found in the United States - of which 95 percent live in Alaska - and the 21,000 found in Canada, and you get a pretty good picture of why the brown bear is so closely identified with Russian culture. The brown bear is one of the most widespread and popular animals in Russia, where it has been long considered to be the country's national symbol. It appears on coins, flags, street signs, maps, billboards, and even beer bottles. In 1980 the brown bear was chosen as the official mascot of the Moscow Olympics.  Reply