Brown Bear at Lisbon Zoo, 24/05/11

A very pale Ursus arctos. Bit of Syrian blood?

More likely a pure Syrian?

Well, what made me think not a pure Syrian was the size - it was just as big as the other bears and generally looked far too chunky. The other two looked like a pure European Brown and a generic random mix (almost Kamchatkan-ish, being rather long-legged and dark). Don't know if there's any Lisbon locals who might know the bears' origins?

Last ones I remember seeing were in Melbourne Australia- 2.1. - the males in particular were probably as big as other 'brown' bears and quite bulky. Females are smaller obviously.

i agree, it can be pure male syrian, we had a big male (300kg) who looked like that...

Some years ago Lisbon had an Polar x Brown Bear Hybrid. But it looks like a syrian too...

It is a Syrian brown bear allright.

Shame that a critically endangered taxon gets so little interest from the captive community and has been allowed to die out more or less in Europe.

One day we might say ..., no Syrian brown bears any more in the anti-Lebanon mountains ... Then what?

Also: do not like that rescue European ssp. bears are never allowed to breed or become part of (just as in the case of Alertis languish more like in captivity).

Agree entirely. they are very striking to look at as well as numerically low. Yet zoos have historically just lumped them in as 'Brown Bears'. I would like to see some places specialise in this species before it is lost- either in captivity or the wild.

There is actually one Non-AZA zoo in the United States that has Syrian brown bears and that zoo is Space Farms Zoo and Museum, I dont know if they breed them, but I sure hope they do because Syrian brown bears are endangered, there is also 1 mexican zoo that has syrian brown bears, and also in the US, the Detroit Zoo and the Baton Rouge Zoo used to have Syrian brown bears, I wish they would get them back !!!

This species has been let down by the European Breeding programme