The grizzly bear is a large and powerful apex predator native to North America. Distinguished by a prominent shoulder hump and long claws, this animal is an iconic symbol of the continent’s wilderness areas. As the largest omnivore on the continent, the grizzly requires vast territories for survival. Understanding the current geographic distribution of this species provides a clear map of where undisturbed wild lands still exist.
The Current Geographic Range
The vast majority of the continent’s grizzly population resides in the northern expanses of North America, with Alaska serving as the primary stronghold. Alaska is home to approximately 30,000 individuals, with the highest densities occurring along the coast where food resources are abundant. To the east, Canada supports an estimated 16,000 bears, primarily distributed across British Columbia, the Yukon Territory, and the Northwest Territories.
The distribution map changes significantly in the contiguous United States, where the population is fragmented and restricted to a few isolated ecosystems. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages recovery efforts across six recognized regions, though only four currently support established populations. The two largest and most robust populations are found in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem in north-central Montana, and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, spanning parts of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. Both ecosystems support over 1,000 bears each, with connectivity between them being a long-term goal.
Smaller populations exist in the Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk Mountain ecosystems, which overlap the U.S. and Canadian borders in Montana, Idaho, and Washington. The Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem supports roughly 60 individuals, while the Selkirk Ecosystem holds an estimated 70 to 80 bears. Currently, the North Cascades Ecosystem in Washington and the Bitterroot Ecosystem in Idaho and Montana do not maintain established populations, though they remain designated recovery zones. The current range in the lower 48 states represents a small fraction of the species’ historical territory.
Essential Habitat Requirements
The patchy distribution of the grizzly bear results directly from its need for expansive, undisturbed habitat that provides a consistent and diverse food supply. Grizzly bears are highly adaptable, occupying environments including arctic tundra, high-mountain forests, subalpine meadows, and coastal areas. A foundational requirement is a large home range, which allows the bears to minimize contact with humans, a factor they actively avoid.
A male grizzly’s home range in the Northern Rockies can span 500 to 2,500 square kilometers, while females generally occupy smaller territories between 200 and 500 square kilometers. This need for large space ensures access to seasonal food sources and safe denning sites for hibernation. As omnivores, their diet shifts throughout the year, demanding a variety of habitats that provide different food items.
In spring, grizzlies forage on low-elevation, emerging vegetation such as grasses, sedges, and roots, often scavenging winter-killed carrion. Summer and fall require calorie-dense foods to build fat reserves for hibernation, a state called hyperphagia. This includes large quantities of berries, such as huckleberries, and insects. In coastal areas, seasonal salmon runs are a concentrated protein source, while inland bears rely on the nuts of whitebark pine trees, which are currently facing decline.
Historical Distribution and Range Contraction
The current fragmented map of grizzly bear distribution stands in stark contrast to the species’ historical range across North America. Before European settlement, the grizzly bear was widespread, inhabiting an area that stretched from Alaska down to central Mexico. Their territory extended eastward from the Pacific Ocean across the Great Plains, reaching as far as the western shores of Hudson Bay.
Historical estimates suggest that more than 50,000 grizzlies once lived in the lower 48 states alone. This extensive range began to contract rapidly during the 19th and early 20th centuries due to westward expansion. The primary drivers of this loss were intensive eradication efforts, overhunting, and the widespread destruction and fragmentation of habitat for agriculture and settlement.
By the time the species was listed as threatened in the contiguous United States in 1975, its range had been reduced by approximately 98 percent. The once continuous population was relegated to fewer than a thousand individuals, surviving primarily in the isolated mountain ranges that now define the current recovery zones. The Mexican grizzly bear, a population at the southern extreme of the historical range, was eliminated entirely by the 1960s.