grizzly+bear

diet: More than 3/4 of the black bear’s diet is berries, herbs, roots, nuts, flowers, grasses, and other vegetation These claws are used to dig up roots and bulbs of plants as well as to excavate den sites Bears have been known to prey on large mammals such as moose, deer, sheep, and caribou. Grizzly bears will feed on fish such as salmon, trout.

Physical characteristics: With their excellent sense of smell, grizzlies can locate carrion from miles away Brown bears have a concave or ‘dish-shaped’ face Grizzly bear paws are black or brownish in color with wrinkled skin on the pad grizzly bears have a distinguishing shoulder hump. Brown bear claws are long and curved, ranging in color from yellow to brown. These claws are used to dig up roots and bulbs of plants as well as to excavate den sites Grizzlies range in color from white, blonde, brown, black and shades thereof. The tips of most fur are lighter in color giving them a grizzled effect Females reach their maximum weight of 270 to 770 pounds in 8 years. Males reach their maximum weight of 330 to 1150 pounds in 12 years. With their excellent sense of smell, grizzlies can locate carrion from miles away Brown bears have a concave or ‘dish-shaped’ face Grizzly bear paws are black or brownish in color with wrinkled skin on the pad This hump is actually a mass of muscle, which enables brown bears to dig and use their paws as a striking force Brown bear claws are long and curved, ranging in color from yellow to brown. With their excellent sense of smell, grizzlies can locate carrion from miles away Brown bears have a concave or ‘dish-shaped’ face Grizzly bear paws are black or brownish in color with wrinkled skin on the pad Grizzly bears have a distinguishing shoulder hump. This hump is actually a mass of muscle, which enables brown bears to dig and use their paws as a striking force Brown bear claws are long and curved, ranging in color from yellow to brown. In rare cases grizzlies have been observed with white claws. These claws are used to dig up roots and bulbs of plants as well as to excavate den sites Grizzlies range in color from white, blonde, brown, black and shades thereof. The tips of most fur are lighter in color giving them a grizzled effect Females reach their maximum weight of 270 to 770 pounds in 8 years. Males reach their maximum weight of 330 to 1150 pounds in 12 years. The heavier a female is the better are her chances of having cubs. In general, brown bears will flee as soon as they detect humans. Finding food, finding mates, and avoiding being preyed upon govern a brown bear’s life

Growth:. Growth- Six weeks- 2lbs Eight weeks- 5lbs. Six months- 40-60lbs. Three years- mature Five years- Fullly grown

Habitat: While there has been much confusion about the taxonomy of brown bears, taxonomists agree there are at least two subspecies in North America In general their home range is between 10 and 380 square miles. Grizzly bears can be found in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories;and the US states of Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, and Montana.

Physical Charactersitics: With their excellent sense of smell, grizzlies can locate carrion from miles away Brown bears have a concave or ‘dish-shaped’ face Grizzly bear paws are black or brownish in color with wrinkled skin on the pad grizzly bears have a distinguishing shoulder hump. Brown bear claws are long and curved, ranging in color from yellow to brown. These claws are used to dig up roots and bulbs of plants as well as to excavate den sites Grizzlies range in color from white, blonde, brown, black and shades thereof. The tips of most fur are lighter in color giving them a grizzled effect Females reach their maximum weight of 270 to 770 pounds in 8 years. Males reach their maximum weight of 330 to 1150 pounds in 12 years. With their excellent sense of smell, grizzlies can locate carrion from miles away Brown bears have a concave or ‘dish-shaped’ face Grizzly bear paws are black or brownish in color with wrinkled skin on the pad This hump is actually a mass of muscle, which enables brown bears to dig and use their paws as a striking force Brown bear claws are long and curved, ranging in color from yellow to brown.

Area: Grizzly Bears are one of the biggest land mammals in North America. While there has been much confusion about the taxonomy of brown bears (Ursus arctos), taxonomists agree there are at least two subspecies in North America Grizzly bears can be found in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories;and the US states of Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, and Montana. Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) once roamed over most of the western United states

=Grizzly bear=

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: [|navigation], [|search]//For the Brooklyn-based indie rock band, see [|Grizzly Bear (band)].// [|Endangered] || ([|Ord], 1815) || Range map || The **grizzly bear**, sometimes called the **silvertip bear**, is a powerful brownish-yellow [|bear] that lives in the uplands of western [|North America]. It has traditionally been treated as a [|subspecies], //Ursus arctos horribilis//, of the [|brown bear] living in North America. verage 1.8 times as heavy as the female, an example of [|sexual dimorphism]. This dimorphism suggests that size is an important factor inGrizzly bears reach weights of 180–680 [|kilograms] (400–1,500 [|pounds]); the male is on a the male's ability to successfully compete for and attract breeding opportunities. Their coloring ranges widely across geographic areas, from blond to deep brown or black. These differences, once attributed to subspeciation, are now thought to be primarily due to the different environments these bears inhabit, particularly with regard to diet and temperature. The grizzly has a large hump over the shoulders which is a muscle mass used to power the forelimbs in digging. The head is large and round with a concave facial profile. In spite of their massive size, these bears can run at speeds of up to fifty-five [|kilometers per hour] (thirty-five [|miles per hour]). Normally a solitary [|nocturnally] active animal, in coastal areas the grizzly congregates alongside streams and rivers during the [|salmon spawn]. Every other year females (//sows//) produce one to four young (most commonly two) which are small and weigh only about 500 [|grams] (one pound). Sows are very protective of their offspring. The current range of the grizzly bear extends from [|Alaska], south through much of Western [|Canada], and into portions of the [|Northwestern United States] including [|Idaho], [|Montana] and [|Wyoming], extending as far south as [|Yellowstone] and [|Grand Teton National Parks]. Its original range also included much of the [|Great Plains] and the [|Southwestern states], but it has been [|extirpated] in most of those areas. The grizzly currently enjoys legal protection in the United States. However, it is expected that its repopulation of its former range will be a slow process, due equally to the ramifications of reintroducing such a large animal to areas which are prized for agriculture and livestock and also to the bear's slow reproductive habits (bears invest a good deal of time in raising young). There are currently about 60,000 wild grizzly bears currently located throughout North America. Brown bears (of which the grizzly bear is a subspecies) can live up to thirty years in the wild, though twenty to twenty-five is normal.[|[1]] 
 * ~ [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Information-silk.png width="16" height="16"]]**Grizzly bear** ||
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Grizzlybears_ChrisServheenUSFWS.jpg/200px-Grizzlybears_ChrisServheenUSFWS.jpg width="200" height="134" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Grizzlybears_ChrisServheenUSFWS.jpg"]] ||
 * ~ [|Conservation status] ||
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Status_iucn3.1_EN.svg/200px-Status_iucn3.1_EN.svg.png width="200" height="53" align="center" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Status_iucn3.1_EN.svg"]]
 * ~ **[|Scientific classification]** ||
 * || Kingdom: || [|Animalia] ||
 * Phylum: || [|Chordata] ||
 * Class: || [|Mammalia] ||
 * Order: || [|Carnivora] ||
 * Family: || [|Ursidae] ||
 * Genus: || //[|Ursus]// ||
 * Species: || //[|U. arctos]// ||
 * Subspecies: || //**U. a. horribilis**// ||  ||
 * ~ [|Trinomial name] ||
 * //**Ursus arctos horribilis**//
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Leefgebied_grizzlybeer.JPG/200px-Leefgebied_grizzlybeer.JPG width="200" height="96" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Leefgebied_grizzlybeer.JPG"]]
 * ==Contents== hide]* [|1 Diet]* [|2 Interspecies competition]* [|3 Safety camping in grizzly territory]* [|4 Safety hiking in grizzly territory]* [|5 Legal status]* [|6 Protection]
 * [|7 Trivia]
 * [|8 See also]
 * [|9 References]
 * [|10 External links] ||

[[|edit]] Diet
Bears have been known to prey on large mammals such as [|moose], [|deer], [|sheep], [|caribou] and even [|black bears]. Grizzly bears will feed on fish such as [|salmon], [|trout], and [|bass], and those with access to a more protein-enriched diet in coastal areas potentially grow larger than interior individuals. Grizzly bears will readily scavenge food, behavior that can lead them into conflict with other species, such as wolves and humans. The grizzly bears that reside in the American northwest are not as large as Canadian or Alaskan sub-species //Ursus arctos//. This is due, in part, to the richness of their diet which in Yellowstone consists of whitebark pine nuts, roots, tubers, grasses, various rodents, army cutworm moths and scavenged carcasses, none of which match the fat content of the salmon available in Alaska. During early spring, as the bears emerge from their dens, elk and bison calves are actively sought. The bear will move in a zig-zag pattern, nose to the ground, hoping to find a meal. In preparation for winter, bears will gain hundreds of kilograms of [|fat], during a period of hyperphagia, before going into a state of [|false hibernation]. The bear will often wait for a substantial snowstorm before it enters its den. Presumably, this behavior lessens the chances that predators will be able to locate the den. The dens themselves are typically located at elevations above 6,000 feet on northern-facing slopes. There is some debate amongst professionals as to whether grizzly bears technically hibernate. Much of the debate revolves around [|body temperature] and the ability of the bears to move around during hibernation on occasion. Grizzly bears have the ability to "partially" recycle their body wastes during this period. In some areas where food is plentiful year round, grizzly bears forgo hibernation altogether. 

[[|edit]] Interspecies competition
Female grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A. Most notable in Yellowstone have been the interactions between [|gray wolves] and grizzly bears. Since the reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone, many lucky visitors have witnessed a once common struggle between a [|keystone species], the grizzly bear, and its historic rival, the gray wolf. The interactions of //U. arctos horribilis// with the wolves of [|Yellowstone] have been under considerable study. Typically, the conflict will be over a carcass, which is commonly an elk killed by wolves. The grizzly bear will use its strong sense of smell to locate the kill first. Then the wolves and grizzly will play a game of cat and mouse. One wolf may try to distract the bear while the others feed. The bear then may retaliate by chasing the wolves. If the wolves become aggressive with the bear it is normally in the form of careful nips at its hind legs. Thus, the bear will sit down and ease its ability to protect itself in a full circle. Rarely do interactions such as these end in death or serious injury to either animal. One carcass simply isn't usually worth the risk to the wolves if the bear has the upper hand (due to strength and size) or the bear (if the wolves are too numerous or persistent). Over time, it seems the grizzly bears have benefited from the presence of the gray wolf because of increased food availability. 

[[|edit]] Safety camping in grizzly territory
During the continuous evolution of the grizzly bear a premium has been placed on spatial memory. Without this adaptation, the species would not be able to forage efficiently over large territories. This strong sense of memory thus ties in with their tendency to return to human habitations which rewarded them with food in the past. It is imperative for all campers in bear country (both black and grizzly) to maintain a "clean" site. Reports have indicated that something as innocuous as a tube of chap stick has enticed a bear to come near a campsite in search of food. Any bear conditioned to finding food around campsites will almost always return and expect the same reward. The bear is then a threat to campers and itself, since park rangers will be forced to kill it. For backcountry campers, hanging food between trees at a height unreachable to bears is a common procedure. 

[[|edit]] Safety hiking in grizzly territory
Hiking in grizzly territory requires a different set of rules than hiking in your local park. The consequences of making a mistake can be deadly and are well documented. First, it is imperative that you are aware of your surroundings at all times. Recognizing grizzly sign is the first defense in preventing an attack. A grizzly track is unlike that of a black bear in that one can trace a single line from the innermost (closest to the foot pad) point on the left toe to the innermost point on the right toe without intersecting the pad of the foot. Other signs include: talus slopes that appear raked, fallen logs which have been torn up, and high claw marks on trees. Surprising a bear typically precedes the most violent attacks. By making noise, at a cost to the ambient peacefulness of nature, you can assure yourself that a bear will know you are there. They are usually calm but may occasionally attack if disturbed. This technique works in the case of a lone grizzly wandering through the area, or the more dangerous high strung sow with cubs of the year. It will not work when a bear has a carcass near the trail. In this situation, the hiker must listen for ravens or other scavengers which may too be hanging around the kill site. If the bear does not exit the premises as you approach, it's time to make a series of potentially life saving decisions. First, back away and talk to the bear in a calm voice. If it hasn't charged, it probably doesn't consider you a threat. Keep backing away (DO NOT RUN) and try in any way to make yourself seem less threatening. In the unfortunate event that the bear does charge, and you are not equipped with bear spray, promptly drop to the ground stomach first, leaving your backpack on as a barrier between the bear and you, and cover your head and ears with your arms (hands interlocking behind your head). Drawing your legs up tightly under you will also decrease the chances of a bite in a soft vulnerable arterial area, and of being dragged by that appendage. In this situation fighting back will almost certainly intensify and prolong the attack. 

[[|edit]] Legal status
Grizzly cub at Knight Inlet, [|British Columbia], [|Canada] Grizzly bear in Denali National Park The grizzly bear is [|listed] as threatened in the [|contiguous United States], and [|endangered] in parts of [|Canada]. In May 2002, the Canadian Species at Risk Act listed the Prairie population ([|Alberta], [|Saskatchewan] and [|Manitoba] range) of grizzly bears as being extirpated in [|Canada]. In Alaska and parts of Canada however, the grizzly is still legally shot for sport by hunters. On [|January 9], [|2006], the US Fish and Wildlife service [|proposed] to remove Yellowstone grizzlies from the [|list of threatened and protected species]. Some [|biologists] have argued that the word //horribilis// should be removed from the bear's [|taxonomic] name, as its negative connotations may hinder conservation efforts. This change would not be permitted by the [|International Code of Zoological Nomenclature]. 

[[|edit]] Protection
Many [|national parks], such as [|Yellowstone] and [|Grand Teton], have laws and regulations in place to protect the bears. Also the grizzly bears are very protective of their young and are willing to go to any level to protect them. On [|March 22], [|2007], The Federal Government stated that Grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park no longer need Endangered Species Act protection.



[[|edit]] Trivia
As per Wikipedia guidelines, content in this section should be [|integrated] into the body of the article or removed. 
 * This article contains a [|trivia] section.**
 * The name “grizzly” comes from the hairs of its coat having silver-grey tips, see //[|grizzly]//; the [|folk etymology] derivation from the word //[|grisly]// meaning “horrible”, though apt, is incorrect.
 * In April 2006, the first [|grizzly-polar bear hybrid] found in the wild was discovered at [|Banks Island], [|Canada], after being killed by a trophy hunter on a guided $50,000 hunt.
 * The grizzly bear became the [|state animal] of [|California] in 1953 and appears on the [|state flag]. The last grizzly bear in California was shot in August 1922 in [|Tulare County], eleven years after the [|state legislature] had adopted the flag[|[2]].
 * Grizzlies are not tree-climbers since their long front claws are not adapted for climbing.[|[1]] They, however, can have a long reach (10 ft. or more), and some can climb for short distances.[|[2]]

[[|edit]] See also

 * [|List of fatal bear attacks in North America by decade]
 * [|Grizzly-polar bear hybrid]

[[|edit]] References

 * 1) **[|^]** Banfield 1987, p. 309.
 * 2) **[|^]** Herrero 1985, p. 128.
 * [|Ursus arctos horribilis (TSN 202385)]. [|Integrated Taxonomic Information System]. Accessed on [|18 March] [|2006].
 * Banfield, A.W.F. //The Mammals of Canada//. National Museum of Natural Sciences, National Museums of Canada, University of Toronto Press, 1987. [|ISBN 0-8020-92298].
 * [|CBC News article on possible "grolar bear" (Polar Bear/Grizzly Bear hybrid)]
 * [|Committee On The Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) Assessment and Update Status Report on the Grizzly Bear (**Ursus arctos**) in Canada, 2002] 2.1 MB PDF file.
 * Cronin, M.A., Amstrup, S.C., Garner, G.W., and Vyse, E.R., 1991. Interspecific and specific mitochondrial DNA variation in North American bears (//Ursus//). //Canadian Journal of Zoology// 69: 2985-2992.
 * Herrero, Stephen, //Bear Attacks//. Piscataway N.J: New Centuries Publishers, 1985. [|ISBN 0-8329-0377-9].
 * Waits, L.P., Talbot, S.L., Ward, R.H., and Shields, G.F., 1998. Mitochondrial DNA phylogeography of the North American brown bear and implications for conservation. //Conservation Biology// 12: 408-417.

[[|edit]] External links
[|Wikimedia Commons] has media related to: //**[|Ursus arctos horribilis]**//[|Wikispecies] has information related to: //**[|Ursus arctos horribilis]**//
 * [|Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History species account-Grizzly Bear]
 * [|BearPlanet Grizzly Bear]


 * **//Ursus arctos//**


 * Brown Bear, Grizzly Bear**

[|//Click to enlarge.//] //(109 kb)// || Bears from the interior of Alaska and Canada usually have pale-tipped guard hairs, and are called Grizzly Bears. Males are 8%-10% larger than females. Average: 1.28 m Average: 389 kg males; 207 kg females Range: 80->600 kg ||
 * Order:** Carnivora
 * Family:** Ursidae ||
 * [[image:http://www.mnh.si.edu/mna/Images/qtvr-icon.gif width="44" height="44" link="javascript: popupTutHelp('qtvrs','qtvr_preload.cfm?species_id=416', 471,640)"]] ||  || QTVRAnimation671kb ||   || [[image:http://www.mnh.si.edu/mna/ThumbNails/illustrations/TN_UArctos.jpg width="220" height="220" link="http://www.mnh.si.edu/mna/full_image.cfm?image_id=1615"]]
 * **Conservation Status:** The Mexican Grizzly Bear, //Ursus arcos nelsoni//, is Extinct. ||
 * Brown Bears are solitary, powerful predators who can be aggressive to one another. There is a social hierarchy: adult males are dominant, and females with cubs are dominant over juvenile males and females without cubs. Brown Bears are omnivorous, consuming everything from mosses, fungi, herbs, grasses, fruits, berries, small vertebrates, insects, birds, and fishespecially salmon during their spawning runto other mammals. They dig after burrowing mammals and take down large hoofed mammals caught in deep snow or otherwise disabled. They are excellent swimmers and have acute senses of hearing and smell, but poor eyesight, and can attack humans without warning. The largest North American males weigh more than 600 kg (1,325 pounds).
 * Also known as:**
 * Brown Bears are solitary, powerful predators who can be aggressive to one another. There is a social hierarchy: adult males are dominant, and females with cubs are dominant over juvenile males and females without cubs. Brown Bears are omnivorous, consuming everything from mosses, fungi, herbs, grasses, fruits, berries, small vertebrates, insects, birds, and fishespecially salmon during their spawning runto other mammals. They dig after burrowing mammals and take down large hoofed mammals caught in deep snow or otherwise disabled. They are excellent swimmers and have acute senses of hearing and smell, but poor eyesight, and can attack humans without warning. The largest North American males weigh more than 600 kg (1,325 pounds).
 * Also known as:**
 * Brown Bears are solitary, powerful predators who can be aggressive to one another. There is a social hierarchy: adult males are dominant, and females with cubs are dominant over juvenile males and females without cubs. Brown Bears are omnivorous, consuming everything from mosses, fungi, herbs, grasses, fruits, berries, small vertebrates, insects, birds, and fishespecially salmon during their spawning runto other mammals. They dig after burrowing mammals and take down large hoofed mammals caught in deep snow or otherwise disabled. They are excellent swimmers and have acute senses of hearing and smell, but poor eyesight, and can attack humans without warning. The largest North American males weigh more than 600 kg (1,325 pounds).
 * Also known as:**
 * Brown Bears are solitary, powerful predators who can be aggressive to one another. There is a social hierarchy: adult males are dominant, and females with cubs are dominant over juvenile males and females without cubs. Brown Bears are omnivorous, consuming everything from mosses, fungi, herbs, grasses, fruits, berries, small vertebrates, insects, birds, and fishespecially salmon during their spawning runto other mammals. They dig after burrowing mammals and take down large hoofed mammals caught in deep snow or otherwise disabled. They are excellent swimmers and have acute senses of hearing and smell, but poor eyesight, and can attack humans without warning. The largest North American males weigh more than 600 kg (1,325 pounds).
 * Also known as:**
 * Brown Bears are solitary, powerful predators who can be aggressive to one another. There is a social hierarchy: adult males are dominant, and females with cubs are dominant over juvenile males and females without cubs. Brown Bears are omnivorous, consuming everything from mosses, fungi, herbs, grasses, fruits, berries, small vertebrates, insects, birds, and fishespecially salmon during their spawning runto other mammals. They dig after burrowing mammals and take down large hoofed mammals caught in deep snow or otherwise disabled. They are excellent swimmers and have acute senses of hearing and smell, but poor eyesight, and can attack humans without warning. The largest North American males weigh more than 600 kg (1,325 pounds).
 * Also known as:**
 * Sexual Dimorphism:**
 * Length:**
 * Weight:**


 * |||| ==Grizzly Bear==
 * __**Grizzly Bear is an animal to be treated with respect. Though it will generally avoind humans, a female bear, or sow, can charge suddenly if her cubs are threatened, and the animal has even been known to outrun a horse for short distances.**__
 * __Grizzly Bear__** (Ursus arctos horribilis), sometimes called the Silvertip Bear, is a subspecies of the brown bear living in North America. They roaming the North American continent for the past million years, has managed to outlive both the saber-toothed tiger and the mastodon. As major targets of human hunters, however, the tens of thousands of grizlies that once inhabited the Great Plains and the Rockies and Sierras of the American West have been reduced to a fraction of their former numbers. Today most live in Alaska and Canada.Probably fewer than a thousand remain in the 48 contiguous states, and those bears are found almost exclusively in some 10 million acres of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
 * __**Grizzly Bear is an animal to be treated with respect. Though it will generally avoind humans, a female bear, or sow, can charge suddenly if her cubs are threatened, and the animal has even been known to outrun a horse for short distances.**__
 * __Grizzly Bear__** (Ursus arctos horribilis), sometimes called the Silvertip Bear, is a subspecies of the brown bear living in North America. They roaming the North American continent for the past million years, has managed to outlive both the saber-toothed tiger and the mastodon. As major targets of human hunters, however, the tens of thousands of grizlies that once inhabited the Great Plains and the Rockies and Sierras of the American West have been reduced to a fraction of their former numbers. Today most live in Alaska and Canada.Probably fewer than a thousand remain in the 48 contiguous states, and those bears are found almost exclusively in some 10 million acres of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
 * __**Grizzly Bear is an animal to be treated with respect. Though it will generally avoind humans, a female bear, or sow, can charge suddenly if her cubs are threatened, and the animal has even been known to outrun a horse for short distances.**__
 * __Grizzly Bear__** (Ursus arctos horribilis), sometimes called the Silvertip Bear, is a subspecies of the brown bear living in North America. They roaming the North American continent for the past million years, has managed to outlive both the saber-toothed tiger and the mastodon. As major targets of human hunters, however, the tens of thousands of grizlies that once inhabited the Great Plains and the Rockies and Sierras of the American West have been reduced to a fraction of their former numbers. Today most live in Alaska and Canada.Probably fewer than a thousand remain in the 48 contiguous states, and those bears are found almost exclusively in some 10 million acres of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
 * __**Grizzly Bear is an animal to be treated with respect. Though it will generally avoind humans, a female bear, or sow, can charge suddenly if her cubs are threatened, and the animal has even been known to outrun a horse for short distances.**__
 * __Grizzly Bear__** (Ursus arctos horribilis), sometimes called the Silvertip Bear, is a subspecies of the brown bear living in North America. They roaming the North American continent for the past million years, has managed to outlive both the saber-toothed tiger and the mastodon. As major targets of human hunters, however, the tens of thousands of grizlies that once inhabited the Great Plains and the Rockies and Sierras of the American West have been reduced to a fraction of their former numbers. Today most live in Alaska and Canada.Probably fewer than a thousand remain in the 48 contiguous states, and those bears are found almost exclusively in some 10 million acres of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

|| Submit search form ||
 * ==__Grizzly Bear Characteristic__==[[image:http://www.bearplanet.org/images/grizzly-bear-picture.gif width="200" height="320" align="right"]]The term "grizzly" addresses in addition, Grizzlys on the white-grey speckled upper skin, which particularly animals in the Rocky Mountains exhibit, from yellow-brown to dark-brown or nearly black colored. The color depends particularly on the habitat, in the special one on the food and on the climate. The size decreases generally from the north to the south, while they can weigh in the north up to 680 kilograms, and in the south from 80 to 200 kilograms. The male is on average 1.8 times as heavy as the female. Despite its massive figure he can run with a speed of over 60 km/h. The legs before and the shoulders of the grizzly are particularly massive and powerful and allow him to dig. It climbs with the trees to unearth honey, swims easily.It uses its claws to fight, seek its food and to mark its territory on the trunk of the trees. Its sense of smell is well developed. The grizzly has 30 years an average life expectancy.The grizzly accumulates 200 kg of grease in order to cross the winter in a state of lethargy which is not however a real hibernation. The grizzly is omnivorous, eating anything fromn ants to beached whales. They also feed on dead game and fish. On rare occasions they kill elk and dig out ground squirrels and foxes. 90% of its diet are vegetable. It is a solitary animal which meets however along the torrents and rivers for the period when the salmons go up the current. ||
 * ||  || [[image:http://www.bearplanet.org/images/spacer.gif width="11" height="100"]] ||   ||   ||   || Enter your search terms ||
 * ||  || Web || BearPlanet.org ||
 * ||  || Web || BearPlanet.org ||

The grizzly bear (picture below) has discovered the carcass of a mule deer and defends its prize from a quartet of timber wolves. As the bear moves between the wolves and the carrion the wolves backtrack quickly and then close in warilyas the bear retreats behind the carrion. Persisting in their attempt to drive off the grizzly, the wolves circle beyond reach of the bear's lethal claws. Where their ranges overlap, grizzlies and wolves can coexist an generally peaceful terms. One naturalist observed a grizzly and a wolf feeding side by side on a caribou carcass. But a grizzly that decides to take over a wolf kill is almost always successful. In this instance the grizzly survived wolfes attack, prevails, and the wolves hury off to look for an easier meal. The grizzly's does not have enemy. Only natural enemy of grizzly is man. || * **Name:** Grizzly Bear ((Ursus arctos horribilis) > **CLASS:** Mammalia
 * **__Grizzly Bear Picture__**
 * Grizzly Bear Attack**
 * [[image:http://www.bearplanet.org/images/line2.gif width="204" height="5"]] ||
 * **__Grizzly Bear Fact__**
 * **Kingdom:** Animalia
 * **Phylum:** Chordata
 * **Subphylum:** Vertebrata
 * **Class:** Mammalia
 * **Subclass:** Theria
 * **Order:** Carnivora
 * **Family:** Ursidae
 * **SubFamily:** Ursinae
 * **Genus:** Ursus
 * Close Window
 * ORDER:** [|Carnivora]
 * FAMILY:** Ursidae
 * GENUS & SPECIES:** //Ursus arctos horribilis//

See [|Carnivora]. > A grizzly with access to salmon will weigh more.**Coloration:** One of the BROWN BEARS that used to be considered a separate species, the fur color varies, and can be cinnamon, grey, brown or black, frequently having white tips giving the coat its "grizzled" appearance. Bears are highly intelligent and use complex problem solving skills to find food. When they come in contact with humans they usually retreat, but will attack if wounded or cornered. Reports of bear attacks are generally exaggerated, or the result of a bear that was familiar with being fed by humans, as in a park. Bears usually den up, and spend their winter in the state of winter dormancy, called torpor. They do not truly hibernate. Walking plantigrade allows the grizzly to walk upright, therefore they are a more menacing foe, and have more access to food. Their claws are not only impressive weapons, but they aid in the gathering of insects in rotting logs. Their acute sense of smell allows for more efficient food collector. Females tend to have 6-8 cubs through their lifetime, and will range a specific area for generations. Ovulation is induced by mating, which usually occurs in May or June, but the implantation of the egg is delayed until October or November. Two cubs are usually born January to March. They are naked and helpless, weighing 12 - 14 oz. The cubs stay denned until April or June. Cubs usually stay with the mother 18 months or until 4 years old. [|Polar Bear] > [|Sun Bear]* ||  ||||   || Three species of bears are found in Canada. The most common is the American black bear (Ursus americanus). The black bear is found in all provinces and territories in Canada, except for Prince Edward Island. The grizzly or brown bear (Ursus arctos), is found in B.C., Alberta, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) lives in the more remote northern regions of Canada. This website concentrates on the two species you are most likely to encounter: the black bear and the grizzly bear. It's imperative that people are able to distinguish between the two species. Both share many of the same behavioural characteristics, but there are also some major differences that will affect how each species reacts to people in different situations. ||  ||  || > > Learn to Identify the Difference between Blacks and Grizzlies > > || ||  || Courtesy of [|Center for Wildlife Information] - Graphic Art Fund The grizzly bear has a pronounced shoulder hump, a concave or "dished" facial profile and much larger claws than the black bear. Black bears have a flatter, "Roman-nosed" profile, larger ears and no shoulder hump. [|More] on the difference between blacks & grizzlies. [|Take a test] and see if you can tell the difference. Bears are omnivorous - meaning they eat vegetable and animal matter. Their natural diet, although mainly vegetarian, includes berries, grasses, nuts and seeds, roots, insects, fish, carrion and, occasionally, mammals such as deer and moose. Bears generally avoid people. However, with the ever-increasing sprawl of human development, conflicts are inevitable. When natural food is scarce, bears may travel hundreds of kilometres, sometimes coming in contact with human settlements and human foods. As opportunistic feeders, hungry bears may enter a backyard or campground if lured by smells from a barbecue or trash bin.
 * CLASSIFICATION:**
 * [[image:http://www.fresnochaffeezoo.com/images/map_northamerica.gif width="243" height="157" align="right"]]RANGE:**
 * Historical:** Once found all over the United States and Canada.
 * Current:** Now, the grizzly bears are found in Northwest N. America.
 * PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:**
 * Length:** 6.6 ft. - 9.2 ft.
 * Weight:** Male: 350 - 975 lbs.; Female: 175 - 450 lbs.
 * DIET:**
 * Zoo:** Spectrum Feline Diet, 2 apples, 2 oranges (peeled) Spectrum Omnivore Diet (2 lbs./100 lbs. body weight)
 * Wild:** The bears feed on carrion, salmon, trout, small rodents, insects, berries, succulent vegetation and roots. Since they can't digest fibrous vegetation, they are selective feeders. [[image:http://www.fresnochaffeezoo.com/images/grizzly_sitting.jpg width="175" height="251" align="right"]]
 * BEHAVIOR:**
 * ADAPTATIONS:**
 * BREEDING & GROWTH:**
 * Gestation:** 210-255 days (7 mos. - 8 mos.)
 * LONGEVITY:** 25-30 years in wild, 47 years recorded in captivity, but usually less.
 * STATUS:** Population in the southern United States went from 100,000 bears in 1800 to less than 1,000 presently.
 * RELATED:**
 * Black bears and grizzly bears are hard to distinguish by colour. Black bears can be black, blue-black, dark brown, brown, cinnamon and even white. Grizzlies, likewise, may range in colour, from black to blond.

> **General Characteristics** With intelligence comparable to that of the great apes, bears are highly evolved social animals. They're all individuals. Bears often share friendship, resources and security. They form hierarchies and have structured kinship relationships. Bears are not mean or malicious; they are very gentle and tolerant animals. Mother bears are affectionate, protective, devoted, strict, sensitive and attentive with their young. Not unlike people, bears can be empathetic, fearful, joyful, playful, social and even altruistic. Bears are not as unpredictable and dangerous as Hollywood or the media would have us believe. Bears exhibit very predictable behaviour. This trait can be beneficial to people who come into contact with bears. Cubs, as well as older bears, engage in social play and have ritualistic mechanisms to meet strangers and decide if they're to be friends or not. Bears routinely distinguish between threatening and non-threatening human behaviour. The same bear that casually empties your birdfeeder while you watch from the window also successfully evades human predators during hunting season. This requires an extremely high level of intelligence. Bears communicate using body language, sounds and smells. Bears will treat humans just as they would other bears. The problem is, bears are very physical with each other, with the intentional use of bites, swats or body posturing. ([|more on communication....]) Bears live in a rich and complex scent-defined world. They depend on their acute sense of smell for information about the world around them. Their smelling ability is extremely sensitive, with one hundred times more nasal mucosa area than a human. A complex system of social messages are communicated through trails of airborne scent; scent transferred to twigs, branches and grasses; and scents left on purpose by tree rubbing or biting, as well as scat or urine marks. In the ursine world, these messages form the daily newspaper. A bear's hearing ability is excellent, and like dogs, bears hear high pitches, exceeding human frequency range and sensitivity. Bears see in colour and have good vision, similar to humans. Bears are fast; they can run downhill and uphill at speeds exceeding 50 km/h - faster than Olympic sprinters! Bears are very strong and powerful animals; they have been known to bend open car doors and pry open windshields in their search for food. Bears routinely roll over huge rocks and logs in search of food. A grizzlies' powerful digging ability lets them feed on roots, bulbs, and rodents; and dig dens on steep mountain slopes. Size, body weight and color vary between species and from habitat to habitat. Learn to identify the [|difference] between blacks and grizzlies. [|quick facts] > [|taxonomic criteria] BEARS ARE PREDICTABLE. Bears are usually more predictable than people. Learn more about bears and how to interpret bear behaviour, so that you can react appropriately and avoid a negative encounter. Bears are NOT ferocious. Bears are NOT mean or malicious. Bears are normally shy, retiring animals that have very little desire to interact with humans. Black Bears are usually more tolerant of people and often live near human settlements, whereas Grizzlies prefer to stay away from human settlements and often become extinct in heavily used or populated areas. (Grizzlies have become extinct in the lower mainland of B.C.) Black Bears are generally less aggressive than grizzlies. Black Bears' excellent tree climbing ability is often used to escape predators and other bears; threatened mothers send cubs climbing. Grizzlies are not good tree climbers (a mother grizzly will aggressively defend her cubs on the ground) Standing up on its hind legs allows a bear to get more information from its senses of smell, sight, and hearing. It is a sign of curiosity, not aggression. Bears are active mainly from dawn to dusk, but may be seen any time of day or night. Most negative human-bear encounters are as a result of bears reacting defensively vs. active aggressively and can therefore be avoided. Bears are very curious and will inspect odours, noises & objects to determine if they are edible or playthings. [|Vocalizations] from treed or trapped bears are usually FEAR MOANS and are often mistaken for growls. Food & Fear dominate a bear's life. Most of a bear's day is spent foraging for food.[|>> more on bear behaviour], [|dispelling behaviour myths] Do not feed bears! [|Conditioning] bears to human food sources will eventually lead to trouble and often the death of the bear. Although bears are technically of the order Carnivora, they are essentially omnivores. Fish and meat are important sources of protein and fat. Although meat tops the list of high-quality food, most bears rely on chance carrion (including winter-killed animals). Some become very effective predators on newborn elk, moose, deer or caribou. Others live in areas where salmon, suckers or other fish spawn for part of each year. Bears spend most of their time feeding on vegetation, insects and other more reliable, although lower calorie food sources. Plant foods make up the majority of a bear's diet (sometimes, as much as 90%). Bears use a patchwork of habitats through the year, concentrating on different food sources as they come into season. Contact your local wildlife office to find out what foods bears prefer in your area.[|>> more on feeding habits]
 * Behaviour**
 * Food Habits**

Depending on the species, bears prefer different habitats, although blacks and grizzlies may overlap habitats. North American black bears are creatures of the forest, preferring extensive wooded areas with a variety of fruit- and nut-producing species and small openings that promote fruiting of many shrub species. Lowlands and wetlands are important sources of succulent vegetation. Streams and pools are needed for drinking and cooling. Trees larger than 20 inches d.b.h. with strong, furrowed bark are easily climbed refuges for spring black bear cubs. Old growth trees are preferred denning sites. A grizzly is a creature of the whole landscape. Along the west coast, grizzlies forage in old-growth temperate rain forest, with its many small clearings and lush understory. In the interior mountains and plateaus, they prefer burned forest, where berries grow in abundance, ants thrive in rotting logs and sweetvetch roots spread through the sun-warmed soil. They wander along flood-scarred river flats, fishing for spawning salmon or trout in season, digging roots or grazing on succulent hairgrass. They venture up meltwater gullies eating horsetail foliage, they wander into avalanche slopes where they find abundant green vegetation, berries, and in spring, sometimes an avalanche-killed elk or mountain goat. Bears don't have exclusive territories that they defend from other bears. A bear may occupy a home range that overlaps the territories of other bears and simply choose to avoid the other bears most of the time. A bear's home range can change in size from one year to the next, or from one area to another, depending on the distribution of food and other resources. Male bears tend to range over larger territories, probably because of the wider area over which he can distribute his genes. Females with cubs will have smaller home ranges, especially with cubs-of-the-year, as they are not as mobile. A grizzly's home range in B.C. might average 1,000-2,500 km2; a female grizzly 200-500 km2; a male black bear 100-475 km2; and a female black bear's home range would be as small as 20-300 km2. > Breeding season is mid-May to early-July, with mating mainly occurring during June. Delayed implantation keeps fertilized eggs from beginning development into embryos until around the start of denning season. If female bears do not attain sufficient body fat or weight, their embryos will not develop. Cubs are born in January or February. Litter size is usually two, but ranges from one to four or more cubs. Cubs weigh 1/10 as much as human babies. Mother bears are affectionate, protective, devoted, strict, sensitive, and attentive with their cubs. Subadult females tend to stay within part of their mother's home range, while subadult males are usually discouraged from staying. Black bear cubs usually stay with their mothers for upto 1.5 years, while grizzly cubs will stay with their mother for up to 2.5 years. Bears are among least productive mammals in Canada. In theory, a male and female black bear born this year - if they breed as soon as they reach sexual maturity and as often as possible, and if their offspring did the same - could in the space of ten years have grown to a population of 15 bears, assuming none died. Grizzly bears are even less productive: in 10 years, a male a female born today could grow to a population of only eight. By comparison, a pair of white-tailed deer could produce more than 1,400 descendants in 10 years! > > [|more on mating] || > Ursus arctos || [|**Animal Printouts**] > [|**Label Me! Printouts**] || > > Brown bears are large mammals that live in cool mountain forests, meadows, and river valleys. These solitary [|bears] can run up to 35 mph (56 kph) for short bursts. Widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, brown bears are found in North America, Europe, and Asia. [|Grizzly bears] are a type of large brown bear found in the interior of North America. Although they sleep in dens (caves, hollow logs, or holes they dig) during the winter, they are not true hibernators and can be easily awakened. Brown bears have a life span of about 25 years in the wild. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > || > > > Fact Sheets > Following are links to several of our fact sheets. We post fact sheets frequently so check back often. Documents on Delisting //What delisting means, what needs to happen for federal protection of the Yellowstone grizzly bear population to be removed, what it means for the bear, and more.// > This fact sheet discusses problems associated with current grizzly bear management and changes that are needed before removal of Endangered Species Act protections should occur. > Although controversy characterizes many aspects of grizzly recovery, there is little to dispute about the fact that the grizzly would not have remained in the lower forty-eight states but for protections afforded in 1975 by the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Find out more about the importance of ESA protections for Yellowstone's grizzly bear.
 * Habitat/Territory**
 * Reproduction**
 * **Brown Bear**
 * Anatomy**: Brown bears are up to 7 feet (2.1 m) long and weigh up to 1,500 pounds (680 kg). Females are about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of males. Their thick fur ranges in color from black to brown to reddish brown to blond. They have dense fur close to the skin and long, coarse guard hairs. They have a big head, a long muzzle, and a large hump on their shoulder ( the hump is a mass of muscles that give the front legs extra strength). Like all bears, they are plantigrade (flat-footed). The front claws are up to 4.75 inches (12 cm), almost twice as long as the rear claws. Newborns weigh only about 1 pound (0.45 kg), the size of a rat.
 * Diet**: Brown bears are omnivores who eat plants, roots, berries, fungi, fish, small mammals, and large insects.
 * Classification**: Class Mammalia, Order Carnivora, Family Ursidae (bears), Genus Ursus, species arctos (grizzly bear and brown bear).
 * [[image:http://www.bearsmart.com/images/clear.gif width="15" height="1"]] || [[image:http://www.bearsmart.com/images/GrizzlyCubs-KnightInlet.jpg width="175" height="140"]]
 * Just the facts, please!**
 * [|Delisting the Yellowstone Grizzly]** //(PDF)//
 * [|A Success Story: Endangered Species Act and the Grizzly]** //(PDF)//

How to be Safe with Bears > This fact sheet discusses how bears that obtain human food, bird feeders, livestock/pet feed or garbage quickly lose their natural fear of people -- a risk for both human and bear safety. > Conflicts between humans and bears are generally avoidable. Before entering grizzly country, check out this basic safety information. > To promote grizzly bear recovery and keep backcountry recreationists safe, the Sierra Club has announced it will provide free inert bear pepper spray training canisters for use at Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MTFWP) hunter education courses in the region. Read more about this innovative partnership > Sierra Club's Grizzly Bear Project offers bear pepper spray training and general bear safety workshops for those who will be traveling in bear country. If you will be in the Yellowstone area, give us a call and we can organize a bear-safety training for your group. Call us at 406-582-8365 for more information! > See a town in Montana that has made a difference. > Learn how the proper use of bear spray will reduce the number of grizzly bears killed in self-defense, reduce human injuries caused by bears, and help promote the recovery and survival of the grizzly bear. These factsheets are in Adobe Acrobat PDF (Portable Document Format) format. To view these files, you must download free [|Adobe Acrobat® Reader] software.
 * [|Talking Trash: A Fed Bear is a Dead Bear]**
 * [|Safety First! How to take precautions in Bear Country]**
 * [|Sierra Club Donates Bear Spray Training Canisters for Montana Hunter Education Programs]**
 * Learn how to be Bear-Smart!**
 * [|Big Sky Bear Aware Group: A community working together in bear country]**
 * [|Bear Pepper Spray: It Works!]**

> |||| || > || || [|Animal Information] || > || [| Arctic Wolf] > [| Baby Land] > [| Badger] > [| Bear Cubs] > [| Bighorn Sheep] > [| Bobcat] > [| Buffalo] > [| Canadian Lynx] > [| Coyote] > [| Dall Sheep] > [| Elk] > [| Grizzly Bear] > [| Mountain Lion] > [| North American Black Bear] > [| North American River Otter] > [| Raccoon] > [| Red Fox] > [| Reindeer] > [| Rocky Mountain Goat] > [| Timber Wolf] || || ||||  || > |||| || > ||  || || Height: || Average of 7 ft. || > || Length: || N/A || > || Weight: || Varies from 325-850 lb. || || > |||| || > ||  || || Maturity: || Males 4 years, Females 3 years || > || Mating: || May-July || > || Gestation: || 6 months || > || No. of Young: || Usually 2 cubs, occasionally 3, rarely 4 || || > |||| || > ||  || || Habit: || Solitary, but sometimes seen with family. || > || Diet: || Wide Variety of fruits, berries, bulbs, tubers, and nuts; also insects and grubs, honey, fish, rodents, and lizards. || > || Lifespan: || In wild, 15-34 years. Maximum of 47 years in captivity. || || > |||| || > ||  || || Family: || The grizzly is a subspecies of the European and Asian brown bear. There are five other closely related species, including the black and polar bears. || || > |||| || > |||| Grizzlies are found in Canada, Alaska, and reserves in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Washington. The largest United States population is in Yellowstone National Park. > > The grizzly is the most aggressive of all the bears. The grizzly has no enemies or predators. The grizzly rarely fights and when he does, it usually is the victor. Grizzlies forage for food in the spring and summer. They are omnivorous, which means that they eat both vegetable and animal matter. Its diet includes fruits, berries, nuts, roots, fish, rodents, and occasionally other animals. It can spot food up to 18 miles away with its keen sense of smell. On the rare occasion that the grizzly kills an animal, the kill can feed a sow (female) and her cubs for up to a week. The grizzly is a great fisherman. It stands in the river and can scoop a salmon out of the water with its enormous paw. Another method the grizzly uses is the "wait and pounce" method. In this, the grizzly waits for a fish to swim by and then, jumps into the water smashing the fish to the bottom of the riverbed. > > Male grizzlies attract their mates by making low snorts and fondling the females back and neck with their paw. Mating occurs in June, but the fertilized egg does not enter the womb until fall. This gives the sow time to build up an adequate food supply for her growing cubs within her. Gestations take 180 to 250 days. The cubs are born blind, toothless, and almost hairless. They are unbelievably small: 8 inches long and weight between one and two pounds. The cubs will remain in the den until the spring when it is warm enough to come out. In early summer, the mother will take their cubs out to teach them the ways of survival. The sow teaches them how to hunt for food and to protect himself or herself. All the cubs stay with their mother for about a year and then, the cubs will ease into independence. > > Grizzlies hibernate in much of the same way as other bears. During the summer and fall, they stock up body fat for the long winter sleep. They usually dig their dens in the fall. They are not "totally" asleep during the winter. If it is a nice, warm day, they will come to the ground in search of food. || || || || || || [|Bears |] [|Contact |] [|Disclaimer |][|Link to Us |][|Resources |][|BearPlanet RSS Feed] [|bear planet]http://www.bearplanet.org/grizzlybear.shtml http://www.bearplanet.org/grizzlybear. [|http://www.bear.org/Grizzly/Grizzly_Brown_Bear_Facts.html] [|http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/noframe/c032.htm]
 * Grizzly Bear ||
 * [[image:http://www.bearplanet.org/images/line2.gif width="204" height="5"]] ||  ||