What is the largest subspecies of brown bear?

The Kodiak bear is generally recognised as the largest distinct subspecies of brown bear. Its scientific name is Ursus arctos middendorffi, and it is found only on islands in Alaska’s Kodiak Archipelago, including Kodiak, Afognak, and Shuyak.

The bears became exceptionally large partly because the archipelago provides abundant food, including salmon, vegetation, and other seasonal resources. Adult males can reach several hundred kilograms, and exceptional individuals rival the largest polar bears in overall size. Their isolation since the last Ice Age has also helped preserve a genetically distinctive population.

The Kodiak bear is a subspecies of the brown bear, not a separate species. This is why it is closely related to mainland grizzlies, whose scientific name is Ursus arctos horribilis. The Kamchatka brown bear can approach Kodiak bears in size, and some coastal brown-bear populations are also enormous, but Kodiak remains the standard quiz answer for the largest recognised brown-bear subspecies.