The Sitting Fox

Grizzly Bears

The monarch of the wild country inspires both awe and conservation concern. This is the bear that the Native people reputedly viewed as the "real" bear, and the largest males tip the scales as the biggest surviving carnivores on earth.

But for all its physical power, the grizzly is vulnerable. It breeds slowly and requires huge areas of undisturbed wilderness. Protecting the great bear as human use of the wild country increases is proving a difficult challenge.

Mountain bear, coastal bear

Long ago, grizzlies were numerous in the prairies, following the great bison herds. Sadly, they are now extinct west of the Rockies foothills, and the Rockies themselves don't provide high quality bear habitat.

Like black bears, grizzlies face a constant struggle to put on sufficient weight for their winter sleep. In the mountains, they leave their dens from March onwards and search for avalanche slopes. The gaping wounds in the forest caused by avalanches allow many small, nutritious plants to grow. As the year progresses, they will also dig up plants with sugary roots, and eventually feast on the berry crop.

Coastal grizzlies tend to grow much larger than their mountain cousins because they have a much richer food source: the salmon run. Great numbers of grizzlies congregate around river mouths in quiet corners of the coast.

Recognising a grizzly

Many people struggle to tell a black bear from the grizzly bear. In part this is down to the names - black bears often aren't black! And grizzlies, while most commonly brown, can vary from pale blonde to almost black.

	Grizzly Bear	Black Bear
	Camel-like hump on shoulder, unless the bear is very thin. $Description: C:\Users\Adele Brand\Documents\My Webs\Grizzly in Banff.jpg$	Straight outline down back - no hump. $Description: C:\Users\Adele Brand\Documents\My Webs\Brown black bear.jpg$
	Usually has a muzzle about the same colour as coat. $Description: C:\Users\Adele Brand\Documents\My Webs\Grizzly muzzle.jpg$	Usually has a muzzle paler than coat. $Description: C:\Users\Adele Brand\Documents\My Webs\Black bear head.jpg$
	Massive, round, dished face $Description: C:\Users\Adele Brand\Documents\My Webs\Grizzly face.jpg$	Narrow face with a straight "Roman" nose / muzzle. $Description: C:\Users\Adele Brand\Documents\My Webs\Black bear profile.jpg$

Why it's never wise to trust a bear's colour: two black bears wrestling, Alberta 2007.

Grizzly bear facts

Each male grizzly has a home range of up to 1,400 sq km (520 sq miles) - bigger than Waterton Lakes National Park.

Grizzly bears are also found in Russia and remote parts of Europe (where they are called brown bears).

A grizzly can consume 20,000 calories per day when putting on weight for winter's sleep.

Grizzly claws can be up to 6cm long.

All photos, text and other content © Adele Brand (www.thesittingfox.co.uk) 2006 - 2011. Inspired by stuff found at www.webcodingtech.com.