June 2003
 
 
 
 

The Grizzly Bear

Order                          Family                        Genus and Species

Carnivora                      Ursidae                     Ursus arctos horribilis

The Grizzly bear is one of the world's largest land carnivores but is, more often than not,
perfectly happy to eat  berries, nuts, and insects.  This large and powerful mammal also
has surprising sprinting speed and can keep up with a horse for over 100 yards.

The grizzly's name has nothing to do with it's reputation for it's hunting ability but rather
comes from the root word "grizzled" which means streaked with gray, and refers to the
grayish tipped hairs on the bear's coat.  Their nickname is "Silvertips," and they are a
North American subspecies of the brown bear, and are one of eight species of bear to
inhabit the world.  The other species are the 1. American black bear 2. Polar bear 3.
Sun bear 4.Sloth5.Asian black bear6.Spectacled bear and 7. Giant Panda.

These bears once ranged from Mexico to Alaska but human intervention and settling
of vast areas of territory have relegated the grizzly to mostly northern habitats. Most of
the grizzly population can now be found in Alaska with a few also being found in the
Northern United States...especially in Yellowstone National Park.

Fishing is another way grizzlies satisfy their hunger and several bears can often be found
near the falls of the McNeil River in Alaska..waiting for the Salmon to begin swimming
upstream to spawn.  As these fish swim upriver, they often become bottled near the falls
where the stream narrows.  Grizzlies take advantage of the bottled up fish and feast on
the Salmon for days.

The grizzly spends much of it's time foraging around for food.  In the summer, they are
active in the morning and evening......and rest during the day and into the evening hours.
During the fall they forage during the day and night as they try to build up enough fatty
tissue to sustain them during the winter hibernation period.

These two cubs in the above graphic are hard at play.  Their parents usually don't have
much to do with them, other than to make sure they are safe and well fed, so it is up to
the cubs to make up games and to keep themselves amused.  Some of their favorite
activities are wrestling, tag, and catch me if you can.  These games are not all just for
fun but will serve to sharpen the cubs reflexes, senses and coordination.

Should the male parent die and the female take up with another male, the cubs will run
away and live on their own.  Male bears resent the young of new female partners and
since the cubs are not their own, they will often chase off ( or kill ) these small reminders
of another male.  If the cubs are between two and three years old, they will have acquired
enough hunting and fighting skills to survive on their own.....but if they are under two years
of age, their chances of survival in the unrelenting wilderness are extremely small.  The
newborn cubs shown below are only a few days old.

Grizzly  bears will eat most anything and can eat over 30 lbs. of food a day.  This, as has
been stated, consists of roots, berries, herbs, leaves, nuts, fish and other small animals. The
meat in their diet consist of deer, elk, small bison, as well as squirrels, and gophers.  They
are attracted by the aroma of human food and can quickly become a nuisance around camp-
grounds if tourists and campers insist on either feeding the bears or fail to dispose of garbage
in a timely and secure manner.  Grizzlies became such a problem in Yellowstone park because
of these tourist feedings, that the park rangers had to tranquilize the bears and move them into
the high, mountainous regions of the park to protect the campers from foraging bears.

The above graphic shows a mother grizzly and her two cubs.  Grizzlies reach a height
of 3 1/2 feet (at the shoulder) and reach a length 4 1/2 to 8 feet.  They will weigh over
600-700 lbs at maturity and will have a lifespan of around 22-27 years.  They reach
sexual maturity in 3 years with a birth interval of between 2 and 3 years and have a
gestation period of  7 months with the resulting offspring numbering from 1 to 4 cubs
with the usual number being two.

Grizzlies stay within an area of land called a "range."  Male grizzlies have home ranges
two to four times the size of females, due mainly to the larger size of the male and the
need for more food but also because the female is constantly looking after her cubs
who are generally too small and weak to follow their mother over large areas of land.

It's lunch time for the almost grown grizzly pictured above.  He is acquiring needed
fishing skills that will serve him for the rest of his life.

The grizzly population has slowly started to increase, mainly because of various new
laws and environmental policies which favor this increase: ie:  restricted logging in
certain areas of the country, laws prohibiting the killing of these bears on federal land
and by the building of bear sanctuaries, which limit human encroachment, along some
Alaskan Salmon runs.  These bears are still on the endangered list but there are many
encouraging signs to indicate their species will be around for many years.  In 1996,
scientists, who study these things, were encouraged to find grizzlies in areas of the eco-
system where they had not been seen for forty years.  It was noted that new births
outnumbered the number of deaths.....a very positive sign.

Press play below, to hear Grizzly sounds.

The range of the Grizzly is shown in red in the graphic located below.

Be sure and check back for July's "Creature of the Month"...The Bengal Tiger

                                                                                 HOMEPAGE