It may be 2,000 years since brown bears, Ursus arctos, were exterminated in the British Isles, but they can still be found in Spain, France and Italy, as well as the Balkans and much of Scandinavia. Reintroductions have been undertaken in the Pyrenees and the Italian and Austrian Alps.
Despite being wiped out from much of its former range, the brown bear is a remarkably successful species, with a wide distribution in the northern hemisphere, including the Far East and Japan. In North America, it is known as the grizzly, though it is the same species.
Where sufficient wilderness survives, brown bears will thrive, though predation of domestic livestock often brings bears into conflict with farmers, while their passion for honey makes them unpopular with beekeepers.
Bears do their best…
