Animal Unique | Grizzly Bear | Grizzly bears are a subspecies of the brown bears. A subspecies is a population of a species with unique physical, social or genetic traits that distinguish the species as a whole. They are also known as the Silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear generally live in the highlands of western North America. A large population of Grizzly bears living in the interior Alaska and Canada. Today, they can be found in certain areas of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Washington, such as Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park. Grizzly bears are found in forests, woodlands, meadows, valleys and rivers and streams.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus: Ursus
Species: U. arctos
Subspecies: U. a. horribilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus: Ursus
Species: U. arctos
Subspecies: U. a. horribilis
Grizzly bears got their name because their brown fur can be tipped with white. This gives them a "gray" look. They are big brown bears. They have black noses and short, rounded ears. One of the most striking features of the grizzly bear is the hump on his back. The hump is a mass of muscles, which gives the bear extra power for running and digging. A pronounced bump appears on their shoulders, the bump is a good way to distinguish a black bear from a grizzly bear, black bears do not have this hump. Grizzly bears weigh up to 700 pounds. The males are heavier than females.
Although the Grizzly bears are the order Carnivora and have the digestive system of carnivores, they are normally omnivores since their diet consists of both plants and animals. Their food consists of vegetable and animal foods. The plants are most commonly eaten fruits, nuts, grasses, fungi, moss and roots. If Grizzly bears are on the hunt, their prey fish, insects, mountain sheep, elk, and rodents. Grizzly bears feed on fish such as salmon, trout, and bass, and those with access to a more protein-enriched diet in coastal areas may be larger than interior individuals. Grizzly bears also easily catch food for bait left by other animals. Winter can be very stressful for wild animals because the season brings harsh weather and little food. Grizzly bears try to survive the winter by going into hibernation. During the summer and autumn, Grizzly bears build fat reserves by consuming large amounts of food. In late autumn or winter, they find a hill and dig a hole to serve as a protective shelter. When in the den, Grizzly bears slow their heart rate, temperature and metabolic activity and life of stored fat reserves.
Depending on the weather and their fat, Grizzly bears can stay in the cave for more than 7 months. Their hibernation is not a true hibernation, as they can easily wake up from hibernation. Grizzly bears begin to search for friends in the late spring and early summer. Females mate with several males during the breeding season. If a female becomes pregnant grizzly, the development of the embryo is suspended for several months. The female spends the summer eating large amounts of food and store as much fat as possible. Fat is necessary for her and her boy to survive the winter.
Depending on the weather and their fat, Grizzly bears can stay in the cave for more than 7 months. Their hibernation is not a true hibernation, as they can easily wake up from hibernation. Grizzly bears begin to search for friends in the late spring and early summer. Females mate with several males during the breeding season. If a female becomes pregnant grizzly, the development of the embryo is suspended for several months. The female spends the summer eating large amounts of food and store as much fat as possible. Fat is necessary for her and her boy to survive the winter.
Grizzly bears can run quite fast, reaching speeds upwards of 40 miles per hour. They are also good swimmers. Young Grizzly bears climb trees to escape danger, but they lose this ability with age. Grizzly bears use sounds, smells and movements to communicate. They growl, moan or grunt, especially when women communicate with their young. Grizzly bears also rub their bodies on the ground and trees to delineate their territory and find mates. Except for cubs and females, Grizzly bears are normally solitary active animals, but in the coastal areas the grizzly comes together along streams, lakes, rivers and ponds during the salmon spawn.
Most notable in Yellowstone are the interactions between gray wolves and Grizzly bears. With the reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone, many visitors witnessed a once common struggle between a keystone species, the Grizzly bear and the historic rival, the gray wolf. Black bears generally stay out of grizzly territory, but Grizzly bears can occasionally enter black bear terrain to food sources both bears enjoy, such as pine nuts, acorns, mushrooms and berries to obtain. If a black bear sees a grizzly coming, it turns tail and runs or climbs a tree. Black bears are not the strong competition for prey, because they have a more herbivorous diet. Grizzly bears normally avoid contact with people. Despite their obvious physical benefits and many opportunities, they almost never see humans as prey, hardly contributes actively hunting people. Most grizzly bear attacks are the result of a bear that has surprised a very short distance, especially if it has a supply of food to protect or female Grizzly bear protect their offspring.
The Grizzly bear is listed as threatened in the contiguous United States and endangered in parts of Canada. Environment Canada considered the Grizzly bear to a "special attention" species, because it is particularly sensitive to human activities and natural threats. All national parks such as Banff National Park, Yellowstone and Grand Teton, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park have legislation in place to protect bears. However, Grizzly bears are not always safe in parks. In Glacier National Park in Montana and Banff National Park in Alberta, grizzly bears are frequently slain by trains as the Bears captured for grain that has leaked from poorly maintained grain cars. Road kills on park roads are another problem.
Animal Unique