<P> Brown bears are found in Asia, Europe, and North America, giving them the widest ranges of bear species . They also inhabited North Africa and the Middle East . In North America, grizzly bears previously ranged from Alaska down to Mexico and as far east as the western shores of Hudson Bay; the species is now found in Alaska, south through much of western Canada, and into portions of the northwestern United States (including Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming), extending as far south as Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks . It is most commonly found in Canada . In Canada, there are approximately 25,000 grizzly bears occupying British Columbia, Alberta, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the northern part of Manitoba . An article published in 1954 suggested they may be present in the tundra areas of the Ungava Peninsula and the northern tip of Labrador - Quebec . In British Columbia, grizzly bears inhabit approximately 90% of their original territory . There were approximately 25,000 grizzly bears in British Columbia when the European settlers arrived . However, population size has since significantly decreased due to hunting and habitat loss . In 2003, researchers from the University of Alberta spotted a grizzly on Melville Island in the high Arctic, which is the most northerly sighting ever documented . In 2008, it was estimated there were 16,014 grizzly bears . Population estimates for British Columbia are based on hair - snagging, DNA - based inventories, mark - and - recapture, and a refined multiple regression model . A revised Grizzly bear count in 2012 for British Columbia was 15,075 . </P> <P> The Alaskan population of 30,000 individuals is the highest population of any province / state in North America . Populations in Alaska are densest along the coast, where food supplies such as salmon are more abundant . The Admiralty Island National Monument protects the densest population--1,600 bears on a 1,600 - square mile island . </P> <P> There are currently about 55,000 wild grizzly bears total located throughout North America, most of which reside in Alaska . Only about 1,500 grizzlies are left in the lower 48 states of the US . Of these, about 800 live in Montana . About 600 more live in Wyoming, in the Yellowstone - Teton area . There are an estimated 70--100 grizzly bears living in northern and eastern Idaho . Its original range included much of the Great Plains and the southwestern states, but it has been extirpated in most of those areas . Combining Canada and the United States, grizzly bears inhabit approximately half the area of their historical range . </P> <P> Although the once - abundant grizzly bear (see California grizzly bear) appears prominently on the state flag of California and was the symbol of the Bear Flag Republic before California's admission to the Union, they are no longer naturally present . The last grizzly in all of California was killed in the Sierra foothills east of Fresno in August 1922 . </P>

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