The Dilemma: A fearsome creature that could split your body in two with a few well-aimed swats is standing before you on its hind legs. You, curious intellect that you are, can’t help but wonder about this creature’s species.

People You Can Impress: everybody—if you survive

The Quick Trick: Grizzlies are brown; black bears are (get this) also sometimes brown—so that may not help. A quick way of telling the difference between the two is: If the bear in question just gored you to death, there’s at least a 70 percent chance it was a grizzly.

The Explanation:
Both bear varieties get a bad rap. In the past 100 years, only about 35 black bear–related fatalities have been reported in North America. The purportedly terrifying grizzly, by comparison, has been responsible for perhaps 100 deaths in the past century. The lowly mosquito, meanwhile, kills about 2 million people a year. But while neither bear is much of a man eater, you’re significantly better off running into a black bear than a grizzly. Sure, black bears are adept tree climbers, which cuts off a potential escape route. But they’re relatively small—adults usually weigh between 150 and 350 pounds. And they’re pretty relaxed. Many black bears are so tame that they’ll eat food from your hand (although we advise against trying it, because it 1) is illegal, 2) can cause dependence on human food, which is bad for the bears, and 3) also potentially is bad for your hand).

Grizzly bears, meanwhile, don’t have such a laid-back reputation. Also known as bruins and brown bears, grizzlies can weigh 1,400 pounds, stand 13 feet tall, run 35 miles per hour, and kill you with a single swat of the paw. While black bears are found throughout North America, grizzlies now live primarily in Alaska and Canada’s Yukon Territory. (Both the UCLA Bruins and the Cal–Berkeley Golden Bears have a grizzly mascot, but the bear hasn’t been seen in California since 1922.) Grizzlies prefer vegetables to meat, but sustaining 1,400 pounds on a diet of berries ain’t easy. To compensate, their favorite protein-rich food is the moth. If you think you’re scared of bears, imagine the plight of the Alaskan moth: Grizzlies can wolf down as many as 40,000 of them in a single day.

The Grizzly Question
So black and brown bears differ in size, temperament, and habitat. But none of this addresses the real question: Is Yogi Bear a black bear or a grizzly? The most famous resident of Jellystone Park is brown—but, as noted, so are many black bears. Both bears will scavenge for food, leaving pic-a-nic baskets in danger. But since Yogi stood on two legs and is, after all, smarter than the average bear—we feel he is indisputably a grizzly. Grizzlies stand on their hind legs much more often than black bears and also have bigger brains.