where are brown bears found in the us
Brown bear
The brown bear has lost 98 % of its habitat in the lower 48 states . About 95 % of the brown bear population in the United States is in Alaska , though in the lower 48 states , they are repopulating gradually but steadily along the Rockies and the western Great Plains . The Alaskan population is estimated at 32,000 individuals . The largest populations of brown bears in the lower 48 states are found in the 23,300 - km2 Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the 24,800 - km2 Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem . The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem of northwest Wyoming is estimated to hold about 674 -- 839 grizzly bears , followed slightly the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem of northwest Montana with about 765 animals , the Cabinet - Yaak Ecosystem of northwest Montana and northeast Idaho with about 42 - 65 bears of the species , the Selkirk Ecosystem of northeast Washington and northwest Idaho with only about 40 -- 50 animals and even less the North Cascades Ecosystem of northcentral Washington with about 5 -- 10 grizzlies . These five ecosystems combine for a total of a maximum 1,729 wild grizzlies still persisting in the contiguous United States . Unfortunately , these populations are isolated from each other , inhibiting any genetic flow between ecosystems and creating low genetic diversity in remaining populations which can have negative long - time effects . This isolation poses one of the greatest threats to the future survival of the grizzly bear in the contiguous United States . Although there is no record of their existence in the United States east of the Rocky Mountain and Great Plain regions in human history , fossil records from Kentucky and the Ungava Peninsula do in fact show that grizzly bears once roamed in eastern North America . Mexico 
The brown bear has lost 98 % of its habitat in the lower 48 states . About 95 % of the brown bear population in the United States is in Alaska , though in the lower 48 states , they are repopulating gradually but steadily along the Rockies and the western Great Plains . The Alaskan population is estimated at 32,000 individuals . The largest populations of brown bears in the lower 48 states are found in the 23,300 - km2 Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the 24,800 - km2 Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem . The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem of northwest Wyoming is estimated to hold about 674 -- 839 grizzly bears , followed slightly the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem of northwest Montana with about 765 animals , the Cabinet - Yaak Ecosystem of northwest Montana and northeast Idaho with about 42 - 65 bears of the species , the Selkirk Ecosystem of northeast Washington and northwest Idaho with only about 40 -- 50 animals and even less the North Cascades Ecosystem of northcentral Washington with about 5 -- 10 grizzlies . These five ecosystems combine for a total of a maximum 1,729 wild grizzlies still persisting in the contiguous United States . Unfortunately , these populations are isolated from each other , inhibiting any genetic flow between ecosystems and creating low genetic diversity in remaining populations which can have negative long - time effects . This isolation poses one of the greatest threats to the future survival of the grizzly bear in the contiguous United States . Although there is no record of their existence in the United States east of the Rocky Mountain and Great Plain regions in human history , fossil records from Kentucky and the Ungava Peninsula do in fact show that grizzly bears once roamed in eastern North America . Mexico
About 95 % of the brown bear population in the United States is in Alaska , though in the lower 48 states , they are repopulating gradually but steadily along the Rockies and the western Great Plains. The largest populations of brown bears in the lower 48 states are found in the 23,300 - km2 Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the 24,800 - km2 Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem .
About 95 % of the brown bear population in the United States is in Alaska , though in the lower 48 states , they are repopulating gradually but steadily along the Rockies and the western Great Plains . The largest populations of brown bears in the lower 48 states are found in the 23,300 - km2 Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the 24,800 - km2 Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem .