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Showing sightings reported in the last 48 hours.

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Route / Area Check

Checks recent bear activity within 10 miles of a point you choose — either your current location, or any spot you right-click (press-and-hold on mobile).

Seasonal Migration Guide

Appalachian Mountains Black Bear
Sep–Nov: Fall mast season (acorns, berries) — bears travel widely and are more visible.
Canadian Arctic Archipelago Polar Bear
Apr–Jun: Bears hunt seals on the spring sea ice before it breaks up, ranging widely across the pack ice.
Canadian Rockies Grizzly / Brown Bear
May–Jul: Bears move to higher elevations following snowmelt and new growth.
Hudson Bay, Canada Polar Bear
Jul–Nov: Bears gather onshore near Churchill, Manitoba while waiting for sea ice to reform — peak viewing (and peak caution) season.
Pacific Northwest Black Bear
Apr–Jun: Bears forage in lowlands for skunk cabbage and new grasses.
Pacific Northwest Black Bear
Aug–Sep: Salmon runs draw bears to rivers and streams in large numbers.
Rocky Mountains Grizzly / Brown Bear
Mar–May: Bears emerge from dens hungry and searching for early vegetation and carrion.
Rocky Mountains Grizzly / Brown Bear
Aug–Oct: Hyperphagia season — bears eat aggressively to build fat before denning.

Ping a Spot

Click anywhere on the map to set the location, or use the button below for your current location.

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How Where's a Bear Works

🗺️ Live Feed vs. Hotspot Heatmap

"Live Feed" shows individual pins from the last 48 hours. "Hotspot Heatmap" ignores time and shows ALL sightings ever, as a density map — good for spotting long-term hotspots.

📍 Ping a Spot

Click the orange button, then click the map (or use your location) to report a sighting. Photos are optional but welcome — they get shown to anyone who opens that pin.

🐾 Click any pin for details

Every pin is clickable — it opens the species, behavior, notes, photo, and safety tips for that specific sighting.

🧭 Route / Area Check is about YOUR spot, not the pins

This tells you how much bear activity has happened within 10 miles of a point you pick — your current location, or anywhere you right-click. It won't show anything near a pin unless that pin is actually near the point you checked.

👤 Accounts are optional

You can report sightings anonymously. Creating an account just lets you track your own pings and earn spotter badges.

Pin Colors

Black Bear
Grizzly / Brown Bear
Polar Bear
Unknown

Fresher sightings look bold; pins fade toward translucent as they approach the 48-hour cutoff.

Where's a Bear — a community bear-sighting tracker. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Sightings are user-submitted and not verified by wildlife authorities. Always follow official park/ranger guidance when traveling in bear country.