Fun Facts About Grizzlies

Fun Facts About Grizzlies

1. Grizzly bears, a subspecies of brown bears, are found mostly in Alaska and Canada, but a small number live in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.

2. Grizzlies can be found in forests and grasslands. Their homes range in elevation from river valleys to above the timberline, but most live in mountains where they rarely come in contact with humans

3. Grizzlies can live up to 30 years.

4. Grizzlies are 3 to 4 feet tall when on all fours, but on hind legs they can stand up to 8 feet tall.

5. Grizzlies can eat anything humans do, but around here about 75 percent of their diet comes from grass, roots, berries and other vegetation. The rest comes from carrion, rodents, fish, insects, honey and other animal matter. They’ll eat deer and other big game when they catch them, but usually they can only catch newborns.

6. Some scientists think bears don’t really hibernate because their temperature and breathing don’t drop enough. Others think they do hibernate, only lightly.

7. Attacks on people are very rare but can be fatal. On average, grizzlies kill one human each year.

8. Cubs can climb, but after a couple of years, their front claws grow too long (up to 4 inches), and they lose the ability.

9. It’s estimated that grizzly numbers declined from 50,000 to 1,000 in the continental United States between 1800 and 1975, when the government decided to protect them. Now the government is studying the grizzlies to see if there are enough that the protections can be removed. There currently are about 1,200 grizzlies in the continental United States and 50,000 in North America.

10. Grizzlies talk to each other with growls, snorts and roars. They also use body language and sometimes click their teeth.

11. Grizzlies usually take their time, but they can run as fast as a horse, about 30 miles per hour, and they have been know to sprint 180 feet in just 3 seconds.

12. Grizzlies get bigger when there is more food available. They can grow up to 1,400 pounds, but most are between 300 and 600 pounds.

13. They see as well as we do, and they have an excellent sense of smell.

14. They can be blond to nearly black, but they are larger than black bears and have dished faces and large, muscled humps on their shoulders. Their front claws also are longer than a black bear’s.