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Black Bear v. Grizzly (Brown) Quiz

  • Thread starter Deleted member 28227
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There were a bunch of black bears that I thought were Grizzly, but no Grizzly that I thought were black bears lol
 
That was my experience as well. A griz is a griz, but a black bear...might be a griz.
From what I see (or don’t see) a young griz can have a less-dished nose and a less-defined shoulder hump, but both are still unmistakable on a side profile. The most distinguishing characteristic of a griz seems to be the huge claws.

Young black bears seem to be easily distinguishable from griz by their Mickey Mouse ears. Mature bears of both species appear to me to have very similar, proportionately-small ears. A pumpkin-head black bear with a light-colored muzzle can have the illusion of a dished nose when viewed head on.

I like the side profile on a mature blackie to see the smooth shoulder and straight nose.
 
From what I see (or don’t see) a young griz can have a less-dished nose and a less-defined shoulder hump, but both are still unmistakable on a side profile. The most distinguishing characteristic of a griz seems to be the huge claws.

Young black bears seem to be easily distinguishable from griz by their Mickey Mouse ears. Mature bears of both species appear to me to have very similar, proportionately-small ears. A pumpkin-head black bear with a light-colored muzzle can have the illusion of a dished nose when viewed head on.

I like the side profile on a mature blackie to see the smooth shoulder and straight nose.
That’s good advice. Big black bears can often have a pretty good shoulder hump too, especially when their head is down.
 
I got 17/20 but to be fair they were blurry or indistinct and I erred on the side of grizzly.
 

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