Bears vary significantly in height depending on the species:

• American Black Bears typically measure about 2 to 3 feet tall at the shoulder when on all fours and range from 5 to 7 feet tall when standing upright on their hind legs

. Their head-and-body length is usually between 4 to 7 feet from nose to tail

, with shoulder height around 28 to 41 inches (2.3 to 3.4 feet)

. Adult males weigh between 126 to 551 pounds, females are smaller

• Grizzly Bears stand about 3 to 5 feet tall at the shoulder on all fours and can reach nearly 9 feet tall when standing on their hind legs

. They are larger and heavier than black bears, with males weighing up to 860 pounds

• Kodiak Bears , a subspecies of brown bear, are among the largest bears. They can stand over 10 feet tall on their hind legs and about 5 feet tall on all fours

. They weigh up to 1,000 pounds or more

• Polar Bears are the largest bear species and can be 7 to 10 feet tall standing upright

. On all fours, they stand about 4 to 5 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh between 800 to 1,300 pounds

In summary, bear height ranges roughly from 2-3 feet at the shoulder on all fours for black bears to up to 5 feet on all fours for Kodiak and polar bears, and from about 5 feet tall upright for black bears to over 10 feet tall for the largest Kodiak bears