Grizzly Bears

Ursus arctos horribilis or Grizzly Bear , also commonly known as the silver tip bear or North American brown bear, is a sub species of the brown bear generally living in the uplands of western North America. The grizzly bear species is thought to be descendants of the Ussuri Brown Bear, which came to Alaska from Russia some 100,000 years ago. It was not until about 13,000 years ago did the grizzly bear move south.

The sheer size of the grizzly is astonishing; females can weigh up to 800 pounds, while the males can weigh up to 1000 pounds. Although the typically grizzly bear fur is brown in color with white tips, variations are not uncommon, from blonde to nearly black. The grizzly has a very pronounced muscular hump that grows on its shoulders. This hump allows for strength in the bears front limps, making it easier to dig and run. With such girth one would not expect the grizzly to run very well at all, on the contrary, grizzly bears have been known to run at speeds of about 35 miles per hour.

In previous years the grizzly could be found inhabiting areas ranging from Alaska to Mexico and east all the way to the Hudson Bay area. Now the grizzly bear can only be seen in Alaska, south through much of western Canada and portions of the north western United States such as Montana, Idaho, Washington and Wyoming, and as far south as Yellowstone, sadly your best opportunity at catching a glimpse of this gigantic animal is in Canada. The grizzly bear once could be found in its natural surrounding throughout much of the great plains, however due to localized extinction seeing the grizzly thrive in this region is nearly impossible, if not completely impossible is some areas.

To prove the magnitude that humans have on the earth’s animal species, the state flag of California is adorned with this magnificent creature, although they have been completely wiped out from the area. In fact the last grizzly bear to exist in California at the time was in 1922 and it was shot. There was about 25,000 grizzly bears to inhabit British Columbia when the European settlers arrived, however due to hunting and habitat loss that number in 2008 was a mere 16,000, what complete destruction.

Any destruction of the grizzly bear population is tragic, considering the grizzly bear has one of the lowest reproductive rates of any terrestrial mammals in North America; this is due to ecological factors. The grizzly does not reach sexually maturity until at least five years of age. Once a female grizzly has mated; she is able to delay embryo implanting until it is time for her to hibernate. The only down fall to this is during hibernation if the female is unable to get the proper nutrients and calorie intake she is likely to miscarry. A mother grizzly after giving birth to as many as two grizzly cubs will not mate for at least two years. In these two years she is caring for her cubs and will not mate.

As the standards goes for the brown bear species, the grizzly bear is said to be the most aggressive of all the species in the brown bear category. There are several reasons for this type of aggression. For example the grizzly unlike the black bear that is smaller by comparison to the grizzly and the grizzly cannot climb trees to escape danger. So when the grizzly bear is face to face with humans it will stand its ground and attack if necessary. Throughout time when a predator of this size exists it must be aggressive to be able to compete with other animals for food, territory and mating rights. Other known face to face contact where a grizzly may attack is while a female is with her cubs. The mother grizzly will fight to protect her offspring with all her power.

The grizzly bear is as of now listed as a threatened in the contiguous United States and endangered in some parts of Canada.

Hunting for trophy sport creates an imbalance between the male and female grizzly bears. Because the older larger males are usually hunted for sport it creates a gender imbalance within the grizzly population. Once an older male is killed, younger males from outside the territory will move in to gain control of the territory, food and the female grizzly bears. In some cases those females will have had cubs fathered by the deceased male and the new male will dispose of those cubs, this is to ensure his genetic make- up is passed on.