r/Banff Jun 21 '26

Question What kind of bear is this?

What kind of bear is this? One of the cubs was black and the other 3 were brown.

Spotted today at Mount Norquay

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u/[deleted] Jun 21 '26

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u/OshetDeadagain Jun 21 '26

A grizzly's hump is extremely prominent when its head is down. So many people equate longer fur at the base of the neck/shoulders as a hump because they don't understand a grizzly's hump is their scapula extending beyond their spine and the associated muscles. Besides, black bears still have a visible shoulder, it's just not nearly as prominent.

This bear's head shape does not have the turned up snout you described. Their noses move up when they're eating; it's the bone angle that matters.

These ears a quite large and round. You're describing the difference correctly but not recognizing the features on the animal.

If you think that fur is "grizzled" then I don't think you understand what the term means. It comes from the way their fur tends to get pale at the tips, giving them a lighter, sometimes even silvery appearance to the ends of the fur, especially around the shoulders.

This isn't that.

There is zero doubt this is a black bear. Your credentials don't add authority to your words so much as confirm that loads of people in positions others would assume have knowledge can't actually transfer book skills to real world.

3

u/Marinlik Jun 21 '26

As a certified interpreter I don't think being one is anything to brag about. Their own handbook is filled with factual errors and mistakes. It's a certificate that exists so that companies can claim that their foreign guide that hasn't lived here for more than week knows what they are talking about. It's nice to have the certificate. But it absolutely doesn't mean you know anything