The biggest bear in the world is a tie between the polar bear and the Kodiak brown bear. Adult male polar bears usually weigh 350–600 kg (775–1,300 lb), says Polar Bears International. Male Kodiak bears weigh 272–635 kg (600–1,400 lb), says the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Which is the biggest bear in the world: polar bear or Kodiak?
It depends on which bears you weigh, and when. Both kinds of bear get fat before winter and thin by spring. In both, males are roughly twice as heavy as females. Side by side, their usual weight ranges overlap almost completely.
Polar bears often win on top weight, and Guinness World Records lists a polar bear as the heaviest carnivore on land. Kodiaks match them on height. The FWS says a Kodiak standing upright can reach 3 m (10 ft), and Polar Bears International says a standing male polar bear is over 3 m. Call it a tie.
| Bear | Male weight | Female weight | Standing height | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polar bear | 350–600 kg (775–1,300 lb) | 150–290 kg (330–650 lb) | Over 3 m (10 ft) | Polar Bears International |
| Kodiak brown bear | 272–635 kg (600–1,400 lb) | 136–318 kg (300–700 lb) | Up to 3 m (10 ft) | US Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Coastal Alaskan brown bear | Up to 770 kg (1,700 lb) | Not given | Not given | International Association for Bear Research and Management |
| Brown or grizzly bear, all areas | 91–454 kg (200–1,000 lb), both sexes | Almost 2.7 m (9 ft) in very large bears | US National Park Service | |
| Arctotherium angustidens (extinct) | About 1,600 kg (3,500 lb), estimated from bones | Not known | About 3.3 m (11 ft), reconstructed | Soibelzon and Schubert 2011, via National Geographic |
How big is a polar bear?
Polar Bears International gives adult males 350–600 kg (775–1,300 lb) and females 150–290 kg (330–650 lb). One exceptional male weighed 800 kg (1,700 lb), according to PBI’s adaptations page. On all fours, an adult stands 1–1.5 m (3.3–5 ft) at the shoulder.
That bulk is built from seal fat. When hunting is good, a polar bear can eat more than 45 kg (100 lb) of blubber in one sitting (PBI). The fat keeps it going through lean months on the ice. Our page on how big a polar bear is has heights, lengths and cub sizes.
How big is a Kodiak bear?
Kodiak bears are brown bears that live only on the Kodiak Archipelago, a group of islands in Alaska. The FWS says they split from other brown bears about 12,000 years ago, and about 3,500 live there today. Males weigh 272–635 kg (600–1,400 lb) and females 136–318 kg (300–700 lb).
Food explains much of their size. Salmon make up about 64% of a Kodiak bear’s diet and plants about 26%, according to the FWS. Brown bears that feed on salmon grow much bigger than inland bears, notes the International Association for Bear Research and Management. Read how big is a Kodiak bear for the full story.
What is the biggest bear ever recorded?
The heaviest bear in Guinness World Records is a polar bear shot in 1960 on the sea ice west of Kotzebue, Alaska. It was estimated at 900 kg (1,984 lb). It measured 3.5 m (11 ft 5 in) from nose to tail, along the curves of its body. Guinness notes that these figures are disputed.
You will often see this bear listed online at 1,002 kg (2,209 lb). We could not find that number in Guinness or in any scientific source. Guinness also mentions Goliath, a captive Kodiak bear at a US zoo. He reportedly weighed more than 900 kg in the early 1980s, and about 750 kg when he was put down in 1991.
Records like these are a poor guide to normal bears. One is an old estimate that experts dispute, and the other is a zoo animal. For wild bears, the typical ranges in the table above are the fairest comparison.
What was the biggest bear that ever lived?
An extinct South American bear called Arctotherium angustidens. In 2011, scientists Leopoldo Soibelzon and Blaine Schubert described the bones of one very old male from Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It lived in the early Pleistocene, the first part of the Ice Age period.
Weight estimates ranged from about 980 to 2,040 kg (2,162–4,500 lb), depending on the method, reports National Geographic. The authors thought the top figure was too high and suggested big males reached about 1,600 kg (3,500 lb). That is roughly twice a big polar bear. Its reconstructed skeleton stands just under 3.4 m (11 ft) tall.
Despite its size, it was probably not a pure meat-eater. Its skull and jaws look most like those of bears that eat a mix of plants and meat, much like a grizzly.
How many kinds of bears are there?
There are eight living bear species, as listed by the International Association for Bear Research and Management: polar, brown, American black, Asiatic black, giant panda, sloth, spectacled and sun bears. The polar bear and the brown bear are the giants, and they are close relatives. They can even produce cubs together, as our page on grizzly and polar bear hybrids explains.
Grizzlies are brown bears too, but inland grizzlies are much smaller than Kodiaks. The National Park Service gives brown and grizzly bears 91–454 kg (200–1,000 lb). See how much a grizzly bear weighs and polar bears vs grizzly bears: size.
Are the biggest bears dangerous?
Any bear this size can hurt a person, so people in bear country follow safety rules. The National Park Service advises hiking in groups, making noise, carrying bear spray and never letting a bear get your food. If a brown or grizzly bear attacks, it says to lie flat on your stomach with your hands clasped behind your neck.
Polar bears are different. Parks Canada says that if a polar bear stalks you or charges, you should stand your ground and fight back. Polar bears also face their own danger, the loss of sea ice; read why polar bears are endangered.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Kodiak bear bigger than a grizzly bear?
Usually, yes. Kodiak males weigh 272 to 635 kg (600 to 1,400 lb), says the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Park Service gives brown and grizzly bears 91 to 454 kg (200 to 1,000 lb). Both are brown bears, but Kodiaks feast on salmon, while many inland grizzlies live mostly on plants.
How tall is the biggest bear standing up?
A big male polar bear stands over 3 m (10 ft) on its hind legs, says Polar Bears International. The FWS says a Kodiak bear can reach 3 m standing upright. The extinct Arctotherium angustidens, reconstructed from bones, stood just under 3.4 m (11 ft).
What is the biggest bear in North America?
The polar bear and the Kodiak brown bear, which are about equal. Polar bears live on the Arctic coasts of Alaska and Canada, and Kodiak bears only on Alaska's Kodiak Archipelago. Coastal Alaskan brown bears can also be huge, with males up to 770 kg (1,700 lb), according to the International Association for Bear Research and Management.
How much does a newborn polar bear weigh?
About 500 grams, or 1 to 1.5 lb, says Polar Bears International. That is lighter than a bag of sugar. By two to three months old, cubs weigh about 11 to 14 kg (25 to 30 lb), thanks to milk that is about 31% fat. A cub may end up more than a thousand times heavier than it was at birth.
Sources
- Polar Bears International. 10 surprising facts about polar bears.
- Polar Bears International. Adaptations and characteristics.
- US Fish and Wildlife Service. Kodiak brown bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi).
- US National Park Service. Brown bears.
- International Association for Bear Research and Management. Ursus arctos (brown bear).
- Guinness World Records. Heaviest carnivore on land.
- National Geographic (2011). Demythologizing Arctotherium, the biggest bear ever (on Soibelzon and Schubert 2011, Journal of Paleontology, doi:10.1666/10-037.1).
- US National Park Service. Staying safe around bears.
- Parks Canada (Wapusk National Park). Handling an encounter: polar bear safety.
Sources checked 15 September 2026.
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