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Grizzly Bear photographed at the Great Bear Adventure in Coram, Montana where visitors can observe bears in their natural habitat.
Photograph by G Dan Hutcheson. Some rights reserved. |
Grizzly Bear, Denali National Park, Alaska
Photograph by B Mully. Some rights reserved. |
Grizzly Bear, Alberta Canada.
Photograph by Brad Smith. Some rights reserved. |
Young Brown Bear at the Alaska Nature Preserve near Girdwood
Photograph by Philip Hodgkins. Some rights reserved. |
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BROWN BEAR FACTS
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Description
The fur of the Brown Bear is usually dark brown, although varies from cream to almost black. Bears from the Rocky Mountains usually have white-tipped hairs along the shoulders and back and are called Grizzly Bears. Brown bears are strong and can kill a large mammal with one blow. They are powerful predators, and can be aggressive to one another, and can attack humans without warning. They are strong and fast swimmers, and can outrun a horse. Their sense of hearing and smell is good but they have poor eyesight.
Other Names
Grizzly Bear
Size
length 1- 2.8m (average 1.28m(. Can grow to 1.5m tall at shoulder. Average weight: males 390kg; females 200kg. Males can grow up to 600kg.
Environment
forest, open areas such as tundra, alpine meadows, and coastlines
Food
They eat a wide range of food including mosses, fungi, herbs, grasses, fruits, berries, small vertebrates, insects, birds, and fish (especially salmon). They also eat other mammals and can dig out burrowing mammals, and bring down larger mammals such as deer.
Breeding
The female gives birth to two or three cubs from January to March, usually while she is still in hibernation. The cubs are weaned after 18 to 30 months and become independent after 2 to 3 years. Females only breed every 2 - 4 years.
Range
Alaska and western Canada
Classification
| Class: | Mammalia | | Order: | Carnivora | | Family: | Ursidae | | Genus: | Ursus | | Species: | arctos | | Common Name: | Brown Bear |
Relatives in same Genus
American Black Bear (U. americanus)
Polar Bear (U. maritimus)
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