A polar bear stands 130 to 160cm (4.3 to 5.2ft) at the shoulder on all fours, about three-quarters to nine-tenths of an average UK man at 178.21cm. A large Kodiak bear standing fully upright could reach about 3m (9.8ft), which is 1.7 times that man.
Bear shoulder heights compared
Bears are measured at the shoulder on all four legs. The last column divides each figure by the UK average man’s height (178.21cm), rounded to the nearest whole number.
| Bear | Shoulder height | Share of UK average man |
|---|---|---|
| Giant panda | 60 to 90cm (24 to 35in) | 34% to 51% |
| Sloth bear | 60 to 92cm (2ft to 3ft) | 34% to 52% |
| American black bear | 63 to 103.5cm (24.8 to 40.7in) | 35% to 58% |
| Kodiak bear (average male) | 133cm (4ft 4in) | 75% |
| Polar bear | 130 to 160cm (4.3 to 5.2ft) | 73% to 90% |
| Brown bear (reported) | 1.5m (4ft 11in) | 84% |
| Kodiak bear (large male) | up to 1.5m (4.9ft) | 84% |
Standing upright is a different measurement. Wikipedia quotes the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for a large male Kodiak bear reaching about 3m (9.8ft) fully upright. An uncited claim of 3.4m for a film bear named Teddy on the same page is not used here.
| Name | Height |
|---|---|
| American black bear (midpoint) | 83.3 cm |
| Polar bear (midpoint) | 145 cm |
| UK average man | 178.2 cm |
| Kodiak bear upright (large male) | 300 cm |
Polar bears and brown bears
The polar bear is among the heaviest bears. Adult males weigh 300 to 800kg and are 200 to 250cm long. Females are 150 to 300kg and 180 to 200cm long. The largest polar bear on record, a male shot at Kotzebue Sound in Alaska in 1960, reportedly weighed 1,002kg.
Brown bears vary far more by region. Wikipedia gives a shoulder height of 1.5m and weights of 80 to 600kg overall. Interior males average about 180kg, and coastal bears weigh about twice as much.
Kodiak bears: the tallest standing
An average adult male Kodiak is 244cm long and 133cm at the shoulder, and a large male stands up to 1.5m on four legs. Males weigh 272 to 635kg, with the largest wild male at 751kg and the captive bear Clyde at 966kg. At about 3m upright, a large male would be about 1.7 times as tall as the average man.
Black bears and pandas
The American black bear is much smaller. Adults are 120 to 188cm long and 63 to 103.5cm at the shoulder. The biggest wild one on record, a male from New Brunswick in 1972, weighed 409kg dressed, and the page estimates about 500kg in life.
The giant panda is similar in height, at 60 to 90cm at the shoulder, but lighter than a large black bear at 100 to 115kg on average, with males up to 160kg. See dog sizes compared by breed for animals at this scale.
How do bears compare with other animals?
For taller animals, see how tall an elephant is compared with a human and big cat sizes compared with a human.
Method and sources
Bear heights and weights are as stated on the Wikipedia pages listed above, read on 29 October 2026. The upright Kodiak figure is quoted from an Alaska Department of Fish and Game fact sheet as cited on the Kodiak bear page. Midpoints on the board are simple averages of the stated range ends. The UK average man (178.21cm) comes from this site’s dataset, compiled from NCD-RisC. Percentages are simple division, rounded. Inches and feet convert at 2.54cm per inch. Last reviewed 29 October 2026.
Open the comparison board to stand a bear beside a person, or use the height converter to switch units.