Colorado mammals

Brown Bear in Colorado

Ursus arctos

Native to Colorado SX Presumed Extirpated in Colorado

Not listed as nonindigenous in Colorado by USGS NAS; native to its Colorado range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Grizzly brown bear standing in a green meadow in Yellowstone National ParkCoastal brown bear sow with three cubs on a gravel beach at Naknek Lake, Katmai National ParkBrown bear walking across open tundra in Katmai National ParkBrown bear sow with two cubs walking along a beach on the Kenai Peninsula, AlaskaLight blond-phase brown bear standing in tundra vegetation in Denali National ParkBrown bear standing on snow near Nome, Alaska
Photo: Eric Kilby · CC BY-SA 4.0Grizzly brown bear standing in a green meadow in Yellowstone National ParkPhoto: Mudflattop · CC BY-SA 4.0Coastal brown bear sow with three cubs on a gravel beach at Naknek Lake, Katmai National ParkPhoto: Russ Taylor / National Park Service · Public domainBrown bear walking across open tundra in Katmai National ParkPhoto: datadan · CC BY 4.0Brown bear sow with two cubs walking along a beach on the Kenai Peninsula, AlaskaPhoto: Annika Lindqvist · CC BY 4.0Light blond-phase brown bear standing in tundra vegetation in Denali National ParkPhoto: James M. Maley · CC BY 4.0Brown bear standing on snow near Nome, Alaska

Brown Bear in Colorado, by the numbers

Presumed Extirpated in Colorado 145th most recorded of 154 mammals logged in Colorado

Records from 2000–2026.

Seasonality

No dated Colorado records from 2000 to 2026.

The grizzly bear, known to science as the brown bear, no longer has a resident group in Colorado. Open occurrence databases hold no Colorado records for it from 2000 to 2026.

A predator Colorado lost

Grizzlies once roamed Colorado’s mountains from the foothills to timberline, but trapping, poisoning, and shooting erased them over the course of the twentieth century. The last known Colorado grizzly was killed in the remote San Juan Mountains of the southwest in 1979, and no breeding group has been confirmed since. NatureServe lists the species as presumed extirpated from the state.

What a big brown bear in Colorado really is

In Colorado a large bruin is a black bear, often wearing a brown or cinnamon coat, not a grizzly. The grizzly’s massive shoulder hump, long front claws, and dished face belong to an animal that now survives in Colorado only in history.

Common questions

Do grizzlies still live in Colorado? No. They are presumed extirpated, with the last confirmed animal killed in 1979.

Could one wander back? The nearest grizzlies live far to the north, so a natural return would require a very long dispersal across developed country, and none has been documented.

Occurrence data from GBIF.

Brown Bear in other states

Grizzly brown bear standing in a green meadow in Yellowstone National Park
Full species profile Brown Bear Ursus arctos Size 1–2.8 m3.3–9.2 ft Weight 130–700 kg286.6–1543.2 lb Lifespan 25 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Colorado in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status