Himalayan Brown Bear

The brown bear is a large bear of Eurasia and North America. It is sexually dimorphic, with adult males larger and more compactly built than females, and the fur ranges from cream to reddish to dark brown. Its large hump muscles are unique among bears, and its broad paws, up to 21cm wide and 36cm long, are used to dig through soil (Wikipedia, general species account).

It inhabits mainly forested habitats up to 5,000m. For most of the year it is solitary, associating only when mating or raising cubs, and females give birth to an average of one to three cubs that stay with the mother for 1.5 to 4.5 years. Little has been written specifically about Himalayan brown bears in Nepal. Nationally Critically Endangered (Nepal National Red List 2011).