Grizzly Bear

The Grizzly Bear or Brown Bear is a mammal that lives in North America in a number of different habitats. This large and distinctive bear can be found in thick forests, arctic locations and meadows. They will usually stay inland, away from major waterways. The diet that the Grizzly eats depends on its habitat and what is available. It is considered to be an omnivore and will eat vegetation as well as fish and small mammals if this is natural to the area that it lives. Berries, plant bulbs, roots and pine nuts are the staple of the Grizzly's diet, but they will also eat moose, elk and mountain goats.

The Grizzly Bear was placed on the endangered species list in 1975 in the lower 48 states of the United States due to their dwindling population. Thirty two years later the Grizzly was removed from the list in the Yellowstone area after the population was successfully restored.

The Grizzly is one of the subspecies of the Brown Bear. The Kodiak bear is the other type of Brown Bear, which is similar in appearance, but does not have the distinctive grizzled appearance of the Grizzly. That distinctive grizzled look is actually caused by tips of the fur having a lighter color than the rest of the coat.

A male Grizzly Bear can reach up to one thousand pounds in the first twelve years of its life. Females will usually reach more than seven hundred pounds. A young Grizzly will weigh as much as two hundred pounds in the first year of its life and is considered to be grown at around age ten.

The Grizzly Bear is most often seen in the early morning or early evening hours as it searches for food. The rest of the day is spent under cover escaping from the summer heat. During the late summer, the bears will begin to fatten up for their hibernation period which lasts for five months. Typically a female who is pregnant at the time of hibernation, will give birth in the den and nurse the cub throughout the remaining hibernation period. Grizzly Cubs stay with their mother until they are two to four years old.