Bear hunting is the act of hunting bears. Bears have been hunted since prehistoric times for their meat and fur. In addition to being a source of food, in modern times they have been favoured by big game hunters due to their size and ferocity. Bear hunting has a vast history throughout Europe and North America, and hunting practices have varied based on location and type of bear. Bears are large mammals in the order Carnivora. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. The IUCN lists six bear species as vulnerable or endangered, and even "least concern" species such as the brown bear are at risk of extirpation in certain countries. Poaching and illegal international trade of threatened populations continues. Brown bear The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a large species of bear distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Brown bear tracks have much deeper claw indentations than those made by black bears. Regional variations The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) is a North American subspecies. Grizzly bears are brown in color although not all brown bears inhabiting the interior of Alaska, British Columbia, Alberta, the Yukon, and Northwest Territories are grizzlies. Inland grizzlies tend to be much smaller than their coastal relatives. Grizzly bear seasons open in the spring or autumn depending on local regulations and jurisdictions. In most of the lower 48 states, grizzlies are considered a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Grizzly bears are legally hunted in British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Alaska. The Syrian brown bear (Ursus arctos syriacus) is a small and pale-furred bear subspecies found in Turkey, Syria, Iran, and the Caucasus mountains of Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. These bears are hunted mostly in the Caucasus, by stalking, where the harsh terrain offers a greater challenge to the hunter. The Eurasian brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) is most widespread subspecies of brown bear in the old world. It is mainly found today in Russia, Romania, Turkey and the former Yugoslavia, with smaller numbers being found in Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria and Greece, and remnant populations are found in Spain, France and Italy. The non-endangered European population of Eurasian bear is hunted mostly in the north-western part of Russia, while the Asian population is