Bear in heraldry

[a] At the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 between Alfonso VIII of Castile and the Almohads, the council of Madrid sent a detachment in support of the Christian king.

According to chronicles of the time, these troops carried a flag or banner which identified them: a statant bear on a silver field.

In 1666 a polar bear on a blue field was added to the greater/royal arms of the king of Denmark to represent Greenland.

Russian bears (brown bears) and polar bears appear on the coats of arms and flags of numerous Russian federal subjects and cities, including the Republic of Karelia, the Mari El Republic, the city of Veliky Novgorod and Novgorod Oblast, the Yaroslavl Oblast, Khabarovsk Krai, Perm Krai, Zheleznogorsk, Baltasinsky District, the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

The Finnish region of Satakunta and the corresponding historical province feature a crowned sword-wielding bear on their coats of arms.

The coat of arms of Madrid depicts a bear reaching up into a madroño or strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) to eat some of its fruit.

14th-century shield with the arms of Bern
In 1544 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , granted to Madrid the titles of "Imperial" and "Crowned" for this reason, a crown was added on the shield above the tree.
Coat of arms of Appenzell (since 1597 of Appenzell Innerrhoden ).
Coat of arms of Freising .
Coat of arms of Greenland since 1989.