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Appendix 1: Grizzly Bear Field Identification
There are three key field marks to look for in photographs of bears, or actual bears.
Shoulders: Grizzly bears have a prominent shoulder hump while black bears typically
do not.
Head profile: Grizzly bears have a concave (dished) profile to their forhead and snout
and have short rounded ears. Black bears head profile is flat and their ears are taller.
Claws: Claws on the front feet of grizzly bears can be extremely long and relatively flat
(used for digging). Claws on the front feet of black bears are not as prominent and are
curved (useful for tree climbing).
Figure 2. Field Marks for distinguishing black bear and grizzly bears. Source: Center For Wildlife
Information (http://centerforwildlifeinformation.org/BeBearAware/Bears_of_North_America/Black-
Grizzly_ID/black-grizzly_id.html, retrieved March 2014).
