There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
Since the first debates, in the old hunting literature, it has been a hot topic to discuss about which is the largest of the bears.
Some people state that the largest bear is the Polar bear (Ursus maritimus), which according to those sources reach the largest body size and weight. Other sources, on the contrary, still states that the largest bear is the Brown bear (Ursus arctos), represented specifically by the giant Kodiak bear.
It is important to mention that several literature still separate the brown bear populations in “subspecies”, however those descriptions are unreliable as those “differences” stated by the old naturalists are based in poor sampling and biased descriptions. Although there is some variation between populations, both in size and color pelage, DNA studies have shown that in fact ALL brown bear populations belongs to a single species with no subspecies, just like the case of the polar bear, the jaguar or the wolves.
This topic is the first of a new series dedicated to compare animals and they characteristics. This is NOT a “vs” series, as the point here is not to debate who is going to win in a fight. For the contrary, the comparison in this case is to know which of the two is actually the largest and what differences can we describe in order to know them, even without the flesh.
The "King" of the bears - comparison between the Polar bear and the Brown bear
