Brown bear (Ursus arctos) can be predicted to have larger autumn body mass in the north than south because the duration of winter dormancy lengthens towards the north. We examined variation of body size among hunter-killed female and male brown bears within a latitudal range of 60 and 68 degreesN in Finland. The body size of males (mass, contour length) decreased towards the north while our data did not indicate such a trend in females. Our results do not coincide with Bergmann's rule suggesting increasing body size with decreasing ambient temperature, probably owing to energy-saving winter dormancy during which brown bear is not overtly exposed to weather conditions. Secondly, possible differences in the quality of green forage might not largely influence the nutrition of an omnivorous mammal. [References: 30]
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