The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) teamed up with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) to create a video helping people learn how to distinguish between black bear tracks and brown bear/grizzly bear tracks. In the video, a ranger from Montana FWP holds two molds, one showing a black bear track and the other showing a grizzly bear track, and she walks through several distinguishing features.
First, the ranger encourages people who come across a large mammal track to count the toes. If it has four toes, it’s not a bear. If it has five toes, look a little closer to figure out which type of bear was recently there.
Features to look out for include the overall size of the print, the shape of the paw, and the length of the claws. After observing the tracks, Montana FWP encourages hikers not to track bears down. Consider leaving the area and always carry a bear deterrent like a bear spray (see recommendations below).
Learn more about how to tell black bear prints from brown bear prints here:
Best Bear Sprays
Learn more about bear sprays here.
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Have you ever come across brown bear or black bear tracks in the wild?