Grizzly Bear Facts

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While their latin name implies dreadful, real grizzly bear facts prove otherwise.

In actuality, the grizzly bear is one of nature’s most magnificent predators and once roamed much of North America.

Grizzlies are technically brown bears. The only distinction between the two is habitat: bears roaming coastal areas along Alaska and Canada are referred to as brown bears, while inland bears are called grizzly bears.

Grizzly Bear (Urus arctos horribilis)

Still, the physical features between coastal bears and inland bears are the same. It is the differences between a brown/grizzly and a black bear that are important. These differences are:

• Grizzlies have a noticable hump on their shoulders
• Grizzlies have concave faces
• Grizzly/brown bear coloration ranges from light cream to black, but generally is a light brown

Grizzly Bear Info

Below are average approximations of grizzly bear statistics:

• Weight: Adult males around Yellowstone and Glacier National Park tend to weigh approximately 300-500 pounds, while femailes weigh around 200. Alaskan male grizzly bears can weigh upwards of 850 pounds and females nearly 500
• Height: Grizzly bear facts suggest that most do not grow larger than 3.5 feet from paw to shoulder
• Length: Grizzlies can grow up to seven feet long!
• Sprinting speed: Records have proven that grizzlies can run as fast as 35 miles per hour
• Lifespan: 20-25 years

Grizzly Bear Habitat

While the grizzly bear use to roam from Alaska to Mexico, and California to the Great Plains, human encroachment has seriously dwindled its population and habitat. Now, grizzly bears are mainly found in National Parks, like Glacier National Park, Montana, and Yellowstone.

Still, these are hardy creatures. They have survived years of hunting by humans and have emerged victoriously from their near-extinction status decades ago.

Just because grizzly bears have been pushed against a wall by mankind does not mean that they are the cuddly creatures society tries to portray them as. The proper safety precautions must always be exercised when hiking through grizzly bear habitat or you are putting yourself and your family at risk.

Grizzly Bear Facts: Diet Info

Grizzly bears are omnivores, meaning they eat both meat and fruits and veggies. Basically, anything a grizzly bear can get its paws on, it will consume (generally not humans though!) Much of their diet consists of:

• Green vegetation
• Nuts
• Berries
• Insects
• Roots
• Salmon
• Elk
• Moose
• Deer

Additional Grizzly Bear Facts

More grizzly bear facts that you may find interesting includes:

• There have been only 10 bear related fatalities in Glacier National Park since 1910
• In April 2007, grizzly bears were removed from the Threatened Species List due to a massive recovery in Yellowstone National Park
• The typical litter size for grizzlies is 1-3 cubs
• Only a little more than 1,000 grizzly bears live in the lower 48 states, while over 30,000 reside in Alaska