Download grizzly bear fact sheet - World Animal Foundation

GRIZZLY BEAR FACT SHEET
STATUS:
In 1975, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the
brown (grizzly) bear as a threatened species in the
Lower 48 states, under the Endangered Species Act,
meaning it is considered likely to become endangered.
In Alaska, where there are estimated to be over 30,000
brown bears, they are classified as a game animal with
regionally established regulations.
DESCRIPTION:
The brown bear (known as the grizzly in the Lower 48
states) is a large predator distinguished from black bears
by a distinctive hump on the shoulders, a dished profile
to the face, and long claws about the length of a human
finger. Coloration is usually darkish brown but can vary
from very light cream to black. The long guard hairs on
their back and shoulders often have white tips and give
the bears a "grizzled" appearance, hence the name
"grizzly."
SIZE:
Brown bears vary greatly in size. Adult males can weigh
from 300 to 850 pounds while females weigh in between
200 and 450 pounds. The largest brown bears are found
along the coast of Alaska and British Columbia, and
islands such as Kodiak and Admiralty Islands. Here,
because of a consistent diet of high protein salmon,
males average over 700 pounds and females average
about 450 pounds. European brown bears and brown
bears from the interior of North America average about
two-thirds the size of these large coastal brown bears.
Despite this large size, brown bears are extremely agile
and fast, reaching speeds of 35 to 40 mph.
HABITAT:
Brown bears are found in a variety of habitats, from
dense forests, to subalpine meadows and arctic tundra.
The brown bear is thought to have adapted to the life of a plains or steppe animal and was once common on the Great
Plains of North America. Human encroachment has forced the remaining brown bear populations to select rugged
mountains and remote forests that are undisturbed by humans.
RANGE:
Brown bears are found in North America, eastern and western Europe, northern Asia and in Japan. In North America,
brown bears are found in western Canada, Alaska, and in the states of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Washington.
Brown bears have the widest distribution of any bear species and occupy a wide range of habitats. Historically, they could
be found from Alaksa to Mexico, California to Ohio.
POPULATION:
In the Lower 48 states there are 800 - 1,020 brown bears surviving. Of these, about 350 live in northwestern Montana,
350-400 live in or around Yellowstone National Park, about 30 in the Selkirk Mountains in northern Idaho/northeast
Washington, about 30 live in the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem in northern Idaho/western Montana, and perhaps 20 live in the
North Cascades of upper Washington State. In Alaska, there are about 30,000.
OFFSPRING:
Females reach sexual maturity at 4 to 7 years old and breed in early May through mid-July. Bears experience "delayed
implantation" so that the fertilized egg does not begin to develop until November, enabling the young to be born in
January or February while the mothers are hibernating in a den. Cubs are about 1 - 1½ pounds when born and litter sizes
range from 1 - 3, but two is most common. Cubs will remain with their mothers for at least 2 - 4 years, and females won’t
breed again while in the company of their young. Thus, the breeding interval is three or more years between successive
litters.
FOOD:
Brown bears are omnivores and will eat both vegetation and animals. Grasses, sedges, roots, berries, insects, fish,
carrion and small and large mammals are all part of a bear's diet. In some areas they have become significant predators
of large hoofed mammals such as moose, caribou and elk. In other areas a large, consistent supply of food like salmon
have led to behavioral changes that allow large congregations of brown bears to share an abundant resource. The diet of
brown bears varies depending on what foods are available in that particular season or habitat.
BEHAVIOR:
Bears live solitary lives except during breeding, cub rearing, and in those areas with a super-abundant food supply such
as salmon streams. Brown bears hibernate during the winter for 5-8 months, depending on the location, and usually dig
their dens on north-facing slopes to ensure good snow cover. Brown bears need to eat a lot in the summer and fall in
order to build up sufficient fat reserves for surviving the denning period. This is particularly true for pregnant females who
give birth to one-pound cubs and then nurse them to about 20 pounds before emerging from the den in April - May. All the
time without eating or drinking a thing! These bears will defend their territories, and mothers are known for their ferocity in
defending their cubs.
LONGEVITY:
Brown bears can live up to 30 years in the wild, though 20 - 25 is normal.
THREATS:
Most of the threats to the survival of brown bears are associated with degradation of habitat due to development, logging,
road-building and energy and mineral exploration. Habitat destruction in valley bottoms and riparian areas is particularly
harmful to grizzlies because they use these as "corridors" to travel from one area to another. Another major threat to the
brown bear is human-caused mortality. Some brown bears are killed by hunters who mistake them for black bears, a legal
game species. Other bears become habituated to humans because of what biologists call "attractants," which include
garbage, pet foods, livestock carcasses, and improper camping practices. This can eventually lead to conflicts between
people and bears - not only in populated areas of the grizzly's range, but also in back-country recreation sites and removal
of the bear. And lastly, illegal killing (poaching) of bears remains another factor leading to their decline.
CAPTIVITY:
Animals used in the circus spend the majority of the year imprisoned in small cages or on chains, traveling from show to
show. The training endured by circus animals is almost always based on intimidation; trainers must break the spirit of the
animals in order to control them. While zoos and aquariums may appear to be educational and conservation-oriented,
most are designed with the needs and desires of the visitors in mind, not the needs of the animals. Many animals in zoos
and aquariums exhibit abnormal behavior as a result of being deprived of their natural environments and social
structures. Some zoos and aquariums do rescue some animals and work to save endangered species, but most animals
in zoos were either captured from the wild or bred in captivity for the purpose of public display, not species protection.
The vast majority of captive-bred animals will never be returned to the wild. When the facility breeds too many animals
they become "surplus" and often are sold to laboratories, traveling shows, shooting ranches, or to private individuals who
may be unqualified to care for them.
PROTECTION:
The Endangered Species Act and Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international treaty with more than 144 member countries. Appendix I listed species cannot
be traded commercially. Appendix II listed species can be traded commercially only if it does not harm their survival.