How do the distinct behaviors and biological characteristics of bears’ colors relate to surviving an encounter with them?

Question

Like what we have in a famous saying on how to survive a bear encounter based on its color, “fight back if it’s black, lie down if it’s brown, and run if it’s white.”

In: Biology

Answer 1

Those are three different species of bear: the American black bear (*Ursus americanus*), the brown or grizzly bear (*Ursus arctos*), and the polar bear (*Ursus maritimus*).

All three are physiologically and behaviorally different. It has nothing to do with color; for example some subspecies of black bear can appear quite brown in coloration (and some are even white), but this doesn’t make them more dangerous.