Brown bear
Ursus arctos
A large omnivore with a shoulder hump, rounded ears, and long front claws. It is a native resident in Georgia and is on the national Red List.
At a glance
Key facts in one look
Diet
Omnivore
Status in Georgia
Resident
Size
1–2.8 m
Habitat
Mountain forest / Vashlovani
Family
Ursidae
Conservation
EN / LC
Human interaction: It has no venom and is not treated as food. It is a large animal: it can bite or strike if you meet it suddenly, especially a female with cubs or an animal at a carcass. Do not approach, feed, or let a dog chase it. Make noise on trails so you do not surprise it. Store camp food securely. Damage to hives and livestock is real in some villages, especially around Borjomi-Kharagauli — that is conflict, not evidence that the bear hunts people. Any wild mammal can theoretically carry rabies. Do not handle wild animals.
Overview
What is Brown bear
The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a mammal in the bear family (Ursidae) and a native resident in Georgia. It appears on national mammal checklists. At species level, head–body length is about 1–2.8 m, the tail is short, and mass ranges from tens of kilograms to several hundred; southern Eurasian mountain bears are usually lighter than coastal Alaskan bears. A measured Georgian series is not published on this page. It has no venom. The human risk is an encounter, a bite, and rarely serious injury — not poison. IUCN lists the species globally as Least Concern. Georgia’s 2014 Red List treats it as Endangered (EN).
Last updated
Gallery
Brown bear in photos
Photo: ზაური ხაჩიძე
Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park ·
Photo: მირზა ხინკილაძე
Tusheti Protected Areas ·
Photo: თომა შენგელიძე
Photo: ნიკა პაპოშვილი
Photo: Charles J. Sharp
Stari Kot ·
Photo: Charles J. Sharp
Stari Kot ·
Photo: Charles J. Sharp
Stari Kot ·
Photo: RodicaB
Praid ·
Photo: Craig Morgan
Willmore ·
Identification
How to identify Brown bear
A large, stocky mammal with a shoulder hump, rounded ears, a short tail, and long front claws. It is the only bear in Georgia.
- 01
At species level head–body is about 1–2.8 m, the tail about 6–21 cm, shoulder height often about 90–150 cm, and mass spans a wide range — southern Eurasian bears are usually much lighter than coastal Alaskan males. Males are larger than females. There is no separate measured Georgian series on this page. The profile is often slightly dished, the ears small and rounded, and the tail almost lost in the fur.
- 02
Fur ranges from cream-sandy to dark brown or almost black; some individuals have a paler patch on the throat or chest. The Georgian name refers to the brown colour, not a separate species. The shoulder hump is muscle used for digging and running and separates it from a wolf in the field. Front claws are longer than the hind claws and do not retract like a cat’s.
- 03
No other bear species occurs in Georgia. Polar bear and American black bear are absent. A wolf is slimmer, with longer legs and a bushy tail, and no shoulder hump. This atlas has a wolf page. Wild boar tracks are cloven, not five-toed; this atlas has a wild boar page. A cub can look like a dog at a distance — the female is nearby.
- 04
It is not venomous. Do not approach. In forest, a large five-toed print with long claws, droppings with berries or plant remains, or dug ground is more likely this species than a wolf.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
In Georgia it lives mainly in mountain forest where people have limited access. Lortkipanidze (2010) writes that it has been lost from lowland forest and many accessible areas, and that three areas remain: the Greater Caucasus, the Lesser Caucasus, and the far east of the country — Vashlovani National Park and its surroundings, in semi-arid country, not only high mountain forest. This page does not map administrative regions. This page includes a photograph from 20 January 2023 from Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park (ზაური ხაჩიძე), a photograph from 4 October 2023 from Tusheti Protected Areas (მირზა ხინკილაძე), a photograph from 24 May 2025 (თომა შენგელიძე), and a photograph from 30 July 2020 (ნიკა პაპოშვილი); the last two photos have no locality. Named protected areas with genetic or field monitoring are Borjomi-Kharagauli (2004, 2014, 2022), forest around Bakuriani (2004–2006), Algeti National Park, Mtirala, Kintrishi, Machakhela, and Vashlovani (2022 samples; 2023–2024 DNA analysis). The 2006 Trialeti report found bears extremely rare or locally extinct in the Tetritskaro sub-area. Do not assume even density across the whole country, including treeless steppe and settled lowlands. A Georgia-specific elevation belt is not published on this page.
Diet
It is an omnivore. There is no separate national diet study on this page. The 2006 Trialeti and Borjomi-Kharagauli report links autumn concentrations to fruiting and mast trees, including chestnut. At species level it eats grasses, roots, berries, nuts and beech or chestnut mast, insects, carrion, and, when it can, ungulates. In conflict areas it takes beehives, crops, and livestock — that is local damage, not a complete menu.
Behavior
It often moves at dusk and at night, especially near people; in remote forest it also appears by day. In winter, when food is scarce, it dens — a deep sleep, not true hibernation as in some rodents; it can wake. The exact calendar has not been measured the same way in every Georgian population; do not assume the same denning length in milder Vashlovani winters. At species level pregnancy involves delayed implantation; cubs are born in the den, usually in winter, often one to several; they stay with the female for about two years. Those figures come from the wider range, not a Georgian den sample. Tracks are plantigrade: five toes, long claws on the front foot; the hind print is more like a human foot than a wolf print.
Conservation
McLellan and co-authors assess Ursus arctos as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (2017); the global trend is stable, but southern fragmented populations can be threatened separately. The 2017 IUCN assessment treats the Lesser Caucasus population (south and eastern Armenia into north-western Iran) as Endangered; that is a regional assessment, not Georgia’s Red List entry. In Georgia, Government Resolution No. 190 of 2014 lists the species as EN, criterion C2(aI), for a small, fragmented population. Hunting is not allowed. The Georgian population is on CITES Appendix II (Appendix I applies to other countries and to U. a. isabellinus). Lortkipanidze (2010) estimates a minimum of about 450 animals on about 34,000 km² of habitat, at about 13 / 1,000 km² in central Georgia; that is a minimum, not a full census. In 2014 Borjomi-Kharagauli held 38–47 individuals (95% CI). In 2022–2024 sampling, 228 unique genotypes were identified from Adjara parks, Borjomi-Kharagauli, Algeti, and Vashlovani — a sample from selected protected areas, not a national total; much of the Greater Caucasus is outside that series. Named pressures are illegal hunting, habitat fragmentation, and conflict with beekeepers and livestock keepers.
Yes. It is a native resident. It is on national mammal checklists and on the 2014 Red List.
In mountain forest with few people, and in the semi-arid Vashlovani area. Named protected areas include Borjomi-Kharagauli, Mtirala, Kintrishi, Machakhela, Algeti, and Vashlovani. This page includes photographs from 20 January 2023 from Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park and from 4 October 2023 from Tusheti Protected Areas — observations, not guaranteed sightings. The Greater Caucasus is also in the range, but this page does not map every municipality. Do not treat open lowland as typical habitat.
A large body with a shoulder hump, rounded ears, a short tail, and long front claws. There is no other bear in Georgia. A wolf is slimmer and dog-like.
At species level, head–body is about 1–2.8 m. Southern Eurasian mountain bears are usually lighter than coastal Alaskan bears. A measured Georgian series is not on this page.
It is an omnivore: plants, berries, chestnut and other mast, insects, carrion, and sometimes ungulates. In some villages — hives and livestock. The full Georgian menu has not been measured here.
It is resident and does not migrate like many birds. It dens in winter; exact months are not published the same way for every Georgian population. Signs are more often found in summer and autumn.
It is not venomous, but it is large and strong. Do not approach, especially a female with cubs. Do not feed it.
In Georgia it is EN on the Red List; hunting is not allowed. Globally IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
- McLellan et al. 2017 — IUCN Red List, Ursus arctos
- Lortkipanidze 2010 — Brown bear distribution and status in the South Caucasus
- Murtskhvaladze, Gavashelishvili & Tarkhnishvili 2010 — Geographic and genetic boundaries of brown bear in the Caucasus
- Murtskhvaladze & Tarkhnishvili 2006 — DNA analysis of brown bear in Borjomi–Kharagauli
- NACRES 2006 — Brown bear population of the Trialeti Range and Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
- CNF/NACRES 2022 — Monitoring of brown bear on selected Georgian protected areas
- UNDP/NCDC 2024 — DNA analysis of brown bear faecal samples from Georgian protected areas
- CNF 2020 — 10-year plan for monitoring of short list indicators
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
- Bukhnikashvili & Kandaurov 2002 — The annotated list of mammals of Georgia
- Eliava et al. 2007 — New data on animal biodiversity of Georgia
- Pasitschniak-Arts 1993 — Mammalian Species 439, Ursus arctos
- ASM Mammal Diversity Database — Ursus arctos
- CITES Appendices — Ursus arctos (Appendix II except listed Appendix I populations)
- Bears in Mind / NACRES — Human–carnivore conflict study in Georgia
- ნიკა პაპოშვილი — მურა დათვი (2020-07-30)
- ზაური ხაჩიძე — მურა დათვი, ბორჯომ-ხარაგაულის ეროვნული პარკი (2023-01-20)
- მირზა ხინკილაძე — მურა დათვი, თუშეთის დაცული ტერიტორიები (2023-10-04)
- თომა შენგელიძე — მურა დათვი (2025-05-24)
- Wikimedia Commons — Eurasian brown bear female 1 (Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Eurasian brown bear female 3 (Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Eurasian brown bear mother and cub (Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Bear tracks, Praid (RodicaB, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Grizzly rear paw print (Craig Morgan, CC BY-SA 3.0)
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
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