Syrian brown bears are smaller than European or American brown bears. A big adult weighs around 250 kilograms - heavy, but still about half the size of a grizzly. Their lighter fur helps them blend in with the pale, rocky mountain slopes of the eastern Mediterranean.
They are mostly vegetarian. About 80% of what they eat is fruit, nuts, grass and roots - they especially love wild pears, acorns and honey. They will turn over big rocks to get at insects underneath and sometimes catch a fish in a mountain stream, but they don't hunt large animals.
Bears sleep through the cold winters in a long sleep called hibernation. A mother bear gives birth to her cubs (usually two) inside her den, in the middle of winter. The tiny cubs - smaller than a pet cat - drink milk and grow snug against her until spring, when the whole family steps out of the den together.
Conservationists in Lebanon are working to protect the country's high mountain forests so that bears, wolves and lynxes can return safely. Every time a camera trap catches a glimpse of a Syrian brown bear, it is celebrated as good news for the whole ecosystem.