Montana is one of the last places in the Lower 48 with a resident grizzly population, and its 513 GBIF-logged brown bear records, none from iNaturalist, reflect how this species gets documented: mostly through radio collars, den surveys, and agency monitoring rather than casual photography. Two recovery ecosystems anchor the state’s bears. The Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem holds bears around Glacier country and Flathead Lake, while the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem reaches toward the Centennial Valley near Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge; occasional records also reach the Missouri River corridor as bears range along the Rocky Mountain Front.
Reports run heaviest from June through September and peak in August with 124 records, tracking when bears are most visible above ground and people are most likely to be out looking, not a true summer population spike. Globally the IUCN lists brown bears as Least Concern, but Montana’s own NatureServe rank is Vulnerable (S3), a reminder that the state’s grizzlies remain a fragile population even though the species overall is secure worldwide.
Full species profile
