Stickerlabelingmachine at 10:29, 24 January 2026

2026-01-24T10:29:50Z

New page

{{Short description|Subspecies of mammal}}
{{subspeciesbox
| name = Himalayan brown bear
| image = Medvěd plavý (Ursus arctos isabellinus).jpg
| image_caption = Himalayan brown bear
| genus = Ursus
| species = arctos
| species_link = Brown bear
| subspecies = isabellinus
| status = CITES_A2
| status_system = CITES
| status_ref = <ref>{{Cite web |title=CITES Appendices I, II and III |date=2023 |url=https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/app/2023/E-Appendices-2023-05-04.pdf |access-date=16 May 2023 |website=CITES}}</ref>
| authority = [[Thomas Horsfield|Horsfield]], 1826
| range_map = Himalayan brown bear area.jpg
| range_map_caption = Himalayan brown bear range
}}

The '''Himalayan brown bear''' ('''''Ursus arctos isabellinus'''''), also known as the '''Himalayan red bear''' or '''isabelline bear''', is a [[subspecies]] of the [[brown bear]] occurring in the [[western Himalayas]]. It is the largest mammal in the region, males reaching up to {{cvt|2.2|m}} long, while females are a little smaller. It is [[Omnivore|omnivorous]] and [[Hibernation|hibernate]]s in dens during the winter.

==Description==
Himalayan brown bears exhibit [[sexual dimorphism]]. Males range from {{cvt|1.5|to|2.2|m|ftin}} long, while females are {{cvt|1.37|to|1.83|m|ftin}} long. They are usually sandy or reddish-brown in colour.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Rathore |first=B. C. |date=2008 |title=Ecology of Brown Bear (''Ursus arctos'') with special reference to assessment of Human-Brown Bear conflicts in Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh and mitigation strategies |type=PhD thesis |publisher=Saurashtra University |place=Rajkot|url=https://www.arlis.org/docs/vol1/K/944448050.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822180012/https://www.arlis.org/docs/vol1/K/944448050.pdf |archive-date=22 August 2023 |access-date=22 August 2023}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
The Himalayan brown bear occurs in the western Himalayas from northeastern [[Pakistan]]<ref name=Fida2024>{{Cite journal |last1=Fida |first1=T. |last2=Ahmad |first2=F. |last3=Bosso |first3=L. |last4=Ali |first4=N. |last5=Din |first5=S. U. |last6=Kabir |first6=M. |date=2024 |title=Distribution, diel activity patterns and human-bear interactions of the Himalayan brown bear (''Ursus arctos isabellinus'') in the Deosai National Park, Pakistan |journal=Mammal Research |volume=69 |issue=4 |pages=493–505 |doi=10.1007/s13364-024-00760-3}}</ref><ref name=Fida2025>{{Cite journal |last1=Fida |first1=T. |last2=Mohammadi |first2=A. |last3=Almasieh |first3=K. |last4=Bosso |first4=L. |last5=Ud Din |first5=S. |last6=Shamas |first6=U. |last7=Nawaz |first7=M. A. |last8=Kabir |first8=M. |date=2025 |title=Species distribution modelling and landscape connectivity as tools to inform management and conservation for the critically endangered Himalayan brown bear (''Ursus arctos isabellinus'') in the Deosai National Park, Pakistan |journal=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |volume=12 |article-number=1477480 |doi=10.3389/fevo.2024.1477480 |bibcode=2025FrEEv..1277480F |doi-access=free }}</ref> through the [[India]]n states of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[Himachal Pradesh]] and [[Uttarakhand]] to the Himalayas in central [[Nepal]].<ref name=iucn_suppl>{{cite journal |title=Brown Bear (''Ursus arctos'') isolated populations (Supplemented material to ''Ursus arctos'' Redlisting account) |author=McLellan, B.N. |author2=Proctor, M.F. |author3=Huber, D. |author4=Michel, S. |date=2016 |journal=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species |volume=2016 |url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/pdf/121229971/attachment |access-date=May 16, 2023}}</ref><ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |author=McLellan, B.N. |author2=Proctor, M.F. |author3=Huber, D. |author4=Michel, S. |name-list-style=amp |title=''Ursus arctos'' |article-number=e.T41688A121229971 |date=2017 |amends=2017 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T41688A121229971.en}}</ref>
At present, it is unknown whether the Himalayan brown bear is connected to brown bear populations in the [[Karakoram]] Mountains and on the [[Tibetan Plateau]].<ref name=iucn_suppl/>

In Pakistan, the primary habitats of the Himalayan brown bear are the [[subalpine]] and alpine regions of [[Khunjerab National Park|Khunjerab]] and [[Deosai National Park]]s and other protected areas in Astore and Nanga Parbat.<ref name=Fida2024/><ref name=Fida2025/>

==Phylogenetics and evolution==
The Himalayan brown bear consists of a single [[clade]] that is the [[sister group]] to all other brown bears and the polar bear. The dating of the branching event, estimated at 658,000 years ago, corresponds to the period of a [[Middle Pleistocene]] episode of glaciation on the Tibetan plateau, suggesting that during this Nyanyaxungla glaciation, the lineage that gave rise to the Himalayan brown bear became isolated in a distinct refuge, leading to its divergence.<ref name="lan" />

Phylogenetic analysis has shown that the [[Gobi bear]] clusters with the Himalayan brown bear and may represent a relict population of this subspecies.<ref name="lan">{{cite journal |author1=Lan, T. |author2=Gill, S. |author3=Bellemain, E. | author4=Bischof, R. |author5=Zawaz, M.A. |author6=Lindqvist, C. |year=2017 |title=Evolutionary history of enigmatic bears in the Tibetan Plateau–Himalaya region and the identity of the yeti |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=284 |issue=1868|article-number=20171804 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2017.1804|pmid=29187630 |pmc=5740279}}</ref>

==Behaviour and ecology==
The bears go into [[hibernation]] around October and emerge during April and May. Hibernation usually occurs in a den or cave made by the bear.<ref name=Singh2023>{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=A. |date=2023 |title=Rocky Road: Change is in the Air for the Himalayan Brown Bear |url=https://roundglasssustain.com/species/himalayan-brown-bear-denning-changes |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822180756/https://roundglasssustain.com/species/himalayan-brown-bear-denning-changes |archive-date=22 August 2023 |access-date=22 August 2023 |work=Roundglass Sustain}}</ref>

[[File:Two Cubs playing with Mother Himalayan Brown Bear.JPG|thumb|Himalayan brown bear with cubs on the trek from [[Gangotri]] to [[Gaumukh]] in [[Uttarakhand]], India]]

===Feeding===
Himalayan brown bears are [[omnivore]]s and will eat grasses, roots and other plants as well as insects and small mammals; they also like fruits and berries. They will also prey on large mammals, including [[sheep]] and [[domestic goat|goats]]. Adults will eat before sunrise and later during the afternoon.<ref name=Singh2023/>

==Threats and conservation==
The Himalayan brown bear is poached for fur and claws for ornamental purposes and internal organs for use in medicines. It is killed by shepherds to protect their livestock. In Himachal Pradesh, their home is the [[Kugti Sanctuary|Kugti and Tundah]] wildlife sanctuaries and the tribal [[Chamba district|Chamba]] region. The tree bearing the state flower of Himachal, [[buransh]], is the favourite habitat of the Himalayan brown bear. Due to the high value of the buransh tree, it is commercially cut causing further destruction to the brown bear's habitat.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/kids/missing-snowman/article6618001.ece |title=Missing snowman |last=Tehsin|first=A. |date=2014 |work=The Hindu|access-date=2017-11-28}}</ref>

===Population and Conservation===
A bear population of about 150–200 individuals can be found in the northern region of Pakistan in an area of about 150,000 square kilometres (58,000 sq mi).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nawaz |first=M. A. |date=2007 |title=Status of the brown bear in Pakistan |journal=Ursus |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=89–100 |doi=10.2192/1537-6176(2007)18[89:SOTBBI]2.0.CO;2}}</ref> The Himalayan brown bear is classified as critically endangered in Pakistan.<ref name="Sheikh2003">{{Cite book |last1=Sheikh |first1=K.M. |url=https://zooreach.org/downloads/ZOO_CAMP_PHVA_reports/2003_CAMP_Pakistan_Mammals.pdf |title=Status and Red List of Pakistan's mammals, based on the Pakistan Mammal Conservation Assessment & Management Plan Workshop, 18–22 August 2003 |last2=Molur |first2=S. |publisher=IUCN Pakistan |year=2004 |place=Islamabad}}</ref> It is threatened by overgrazing and farming, poaching, the illicit trade in bear fat and pelts, the extraction of ethno-botanical plants, the unsustainable use of natural resources, and poor tourism.<ref name="Sheikh2003" /> The Deosai plateau in the western Himalayan regions is currently home to the most significant and stable Himalayan brown bear population.<ref name="Fida2024" /><ref name="Fida2025" /> Despite the fact that bear habitat is generally declining, the population in [[Deosai National Park]] is protected in a number of ways, especially from anthropogenic pressure, which is fueling the bear population's expansion.<ref name="Fida2024" /><ref name="Fida2025" />

===Threats from human waste===
In the [[Indian Himalayan region]], a rapidly growing threat to the bear population is the ingestion and dependency on human waste, primarily driven by expanding tourism and inadequate solid-waste management.<ref name="Arcadia2025Plastics">{{cite journal |last=McFarland |first=Maile |date=Spring 2025 |title=Plastics in the Peaks: The Hidden Threat to Himalayan Wildlife |journal=Arcadia |issue=5 |publisher=Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society |doi=10.5282/rcc/9951}}</ref>

Recent ecological studies suggest that as much as 75% of the Himalayan brown bear's diet now consists of scavenged waste from human dump sites. This dietary shift is driven by the loss of natural alpine habitat and the increased accessibility of waste, which creates a dangerous overlap between human and wildlife habitats, particularly near protected areas like the Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary. Scavenging on waste poses several health risks, including:<ref name="Arcadia2025Plastics" />
* Reduced nutritional intake compared to their natural diet.
* Ingestion of toxic chemicals, such as [[bisphenol A|BPA]], which can negatively affect reproduction, neurological systems, and mortality rates.
* Physical injury from plastic ingestion, which can cause blockage, ulceration, or perforation of the digestive tract, potentially leading to starvation or death.
* Exposure to pathogens and [[zoonotic disease]]s commonly found at waste dumps.

The issue is exacerbated by challenging topography and extreme climate in remote mountain areas, which make effective waste management difficult, leading to improper disposal methods like dumping and burning. Conservation efforts, such as those by activist groups like Waste Warriors in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, focus on improving waste management infrastructure and collaborating with local communities and government bodies to mitigate this threat.<ref name="Arcadia2025Plastics" />

==Association with the Yeti==
[[File:UrsusSkullSmit.jpg|thumb|Skull]]
"Dzu-Teh", a Nepalese term, has also been associated with the legend of the [[Yeti]], or Abominable Snowman, with which it has been sometimes confused or mistaken. During the [[Daily Mail]] Abominable Snowman Expedition of 1954, Tom Stobart encountered a "Dzu-Teh". This is recounted by [[Ralph Izzard]], the ''Daily Mail'' correspondent on the expedition, in his book ''The Abominable Snowman Adventure''.<ref>{{cite book |author=Izzard, R. |year=1955 |title=The Abominable Snowman Adventure |publisher=Hodder and Staoughton}}</ref> A 2017 analysis of DNA extracted from a mummified animal purporting to represent a Yeti was shown to have been a Himalayan brown bear.<ref name="lan" />

==In media==
* The [[The Jungle Book (2016 film)|2016 film]] based on [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s ''[[The Jungle Book]]'' portrays [[Baloo]] as a Himalayan brown bear.
==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.pbs.org/video/nature-the-himalayan-bear-and-the-tibetan-fox/ Video of Himalayan brown bear and a Tibetan fox on the hunt] from PBS Video
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121215051532/http://dinets.travel.ru/russianbears.htm Red Bear]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070310233806/http://www.cabernet.demon.co.uk/JAJ/snowman1954/1954-snowman-team.html Daily Mail Abominable Snowman]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060929163122/http://www.wildlifesos.com/bearreport/Bear%20species%20found%20in%20India.htm Bear species found in India]

{{Arctos}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q944893}}

[[Category:Eurasian brown bears]]
[[Category:Carnivorans of Asia]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Himalayas]]
[[Category:Mammals of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Mammals of India]]
[[Category:Mammals of Nepal]]
[[Category:Mammals of Bhutan]]
[[Category:Fauna of Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Critically endangered biota of Asia]]

Himalayan brown bear - Revision history

Stickerlabelingmachine at 10:29, 24 January 2026