Grizzly bear
N39 46.683 W080 19.125
https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Grizzly-Bear
grizzly bear, (subspecies Ursus arctos horribilis), common name for one of the brown bears (Ursus arctos) belonging to the subspecies U. arctos horribilis.
Distribution
In North America, grizzly bears previously ranged from Alaska down to Mexico and as far east as the western shores of Hudson Bay; the species is now found in Alaska, south through much of western Canada, and into portions of the northwestern United States (including Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming), extending as far south as Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. In Canada, there are approximately 25,000 grizzly bears occupying British Columbia, Alberta, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the northern part of Manitoba.
Habitat
Populations persisted in the Northern Rocky Mountains including Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks and in northwestern Montana and extreme northern Idaho next to Canada. A large population of grizzly bears lives inland in Alaska and northern Canada. T
Description
The grizzly bear is a kind of brown bear. Many people in North America use the common name “grizzly bear” to refer to the smaller and lighter-colored bear that occurs in interior areas and the term “brown bear” to refer to the larger and typically darker-colored bear in coastal areas. However, most of these bears are now considered the same subspecies. Grizzly bears are large and range in color from very light tan (almost white) to dark brown. They have a dished face, short, rounded ears, and a large shoulder hump. The hump is where a mass of muscles attached to the bear’s backbone and give the bear additional strength for digging. They have very long claws on their front feet that also give them extra ability to dig after food and to dig their dens.
Grizzly bears are mainly solitary and territorial, except for mothers and their cubs, or when a plentiful food source is discovered. Grizzly bears are known to congregate at rivers with many fish and at improperly fenced garbage dumps. Grizzlies can run pretty fast, reaching speeds as fast as 35 miles an hour for very short sprints. They are good swimmers too. Cubs can climb trees to evade danger, but they lose this ability as their front claws grow longer. Grizzly bears can live to be 30 years in the wild, but most die before age 25.
Size
Grizzly bears are some of the largest subspecies of brown bear. Grizzly bears vary in size depending on timing and populations. The largest populations are the coastal grizzlies in the Alaskan peninsula, with males weighing 389 kilograms (858 lb.) and females weighing 207 kilograms (456 lb.). The populations in northern interior Canada are much smaller, with males weighing 139 kilograms (306 lb) and females weighing 95 kilograms (209 lb.).This is actually similar to the American black bear population of the area.
Average total length in this subspecies is between 198 cm (78 in) and 240 cm (94 in), with an average shoulder height of 102 cm (40 in) and hindfoot length of 28 cm (11 in). Newborn bears may weigh less than 500 g (18 oz).
Diet
Grizzly bears are omnivores. The most commonly eaten kinds of plants are fleshy roots, fruits, berries, grasses, and forbs. If grizzly bears are on the hunt, their prey can include fish (especially salmon), rodents like ground squirrels, carrion, and hoofed animals like moose, elk, caribou, and deer. They are especially good at catching the young of these hoofed species. Grizzly bears can also target domestic animals like cattle and sheep and cause economically important losses for some ranchers. The National Wildlife Federation has a program on National Forest lands surrounding Yellowstone Park to prevent attacks on domestic livestock by purchasing the grazing allotments from ranchers.
Hibernation
Grizzly bears hibernate for five to seven months each year (except where the climate is warm—the California grizzly did not hibernate). During this time, female grizzly bears give birth to their offspring. To prepare for hibernation, grizzlies must prepare a den and consume an immense amount of food because they do not eat during hibernation. Grizzly bears also do not defecate or urinate throughout the entire hibernation period. The male grizzly bear's hibernation ends in early to mid-March, while females emerge in April or early May.
In preparation for winter, bears can gain approximately 180 kg (400 lb), during a period of hyperphagia, before going into hibernation. The bear often waits for a substantial snowstorm before it enters its den: such behavior lessens the chances that predators will find the den. The dens are typically at elevations above 1,800 meters (5,900 ft) on north-facing slopes. There is some debate among professionals as to whether grizzly bears technically hibernate: much of this debate revolves around body temperature and the ability of the bears to move around during hibernation on occasion. Grizzly bears can "partially" recycle their body wastes during this period. Although inland or Rocky Mountain grizzlies spend nearly half of their life in dens, coastal grizzlies with better access to food sources spend less time in dens. In some areas where food is very plentiful year round, grizzly bears skip hibernation altogether.
Reproduction and development
Grizzly bears begin to look for mates in the spring and early summer. In January or February, female grizzly bears give birth to one to four cubs (usually two). The female will care for her young inside the den until spring, when they finally step out into the world. Females give birth in the dens and nurse their cubs until they are large enough to venture outside in the spring as snow melts and new food become available. Cubs, most often twins, are usually born in January or February after about six to eight months of gestation. Females with newborn cubs are the last to leave their dens in the spring. Females with older cubs emerge earlier and solitary females and males are the first to exit dens in the spring. Pregnant females are the first to enter dens in the fall followed by females with cubs; solitary males enter dens the latest. The mother cares for her young for at least two more years, feeding and protecting them. When the cubs are two and a half years old, they typically separate from their mother. In areas with little food, the cubs may stay with their mother longer.
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