FACTS ABOUT BROWN BEARS

FACTS ABOUT BROWN BEARS

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1. Brown bears are often called "grizzlies".

2. The word grizzly comes from the French word "gris" which means gray. The tips of the fur are lighter than the base giving the bear a “grizzled” appearance.

3. The tips of the hair on a brown bear look grayish or grizzly.

4. Brown bears live in parts of North America, Europe, and Asia.

5. Brown bears prefer forested mountains, meadows, or river valleys.

6. A large grizzly bear standing on his hind feet can be 9 feet tall -2 feet taller than a big basketball player!

7. Male bears may weigh up to 700 pounds.

8. Female bears may weigh up to 350 pounds.

9. A very large grizzly bear can weigh 1700 pounds.  Two of these large grizzly bears weigh the same as a medium-sized car.

10. Brown bears eat mostly grass, roots, and berries.

11. Brown bears may eat fish, insects, and ground squirrels, or larger mammals if they can catch them.

12. Bears are commonly silent but can communicate with grunts, roars, or squeals.

13. Hibernation is a way of adapting to short food supplies in winter.

14. During the fall, brown bears eat practically around the clock, stocking up for the next four to seven months.

15. They may eat 90 pounds of food per day.

16. Bears may dig their own den or they may hibernate in natural caves.

17. One to five cubs are born during hibernation. The mother bears nurse the cubs during the winter. The cubs live off the mother’s milk for the first year of life.

18. Nearly 50 percent of all brown bear cubs die before they are one year old.

19. Bears enter their dens during October/November and stay for five to six months.

20. During hibernation, a bear’s heart rate and body temperature may drop, but the bear can be easily awakened.

21. Hibernating bears curl up to conserve heat, may change positions in the den, and might temporarily leave the den during the hibernation months.

22. Bears are very strong and have good endurance. They can outrun a horse and outswim an Olympian!

23. The tails of brown bears are 3 to 8 inches in length.

24. When bear cubs are born they cannot see and have no fur.

25. Bears travel hundreds of miles in the fall to find food-especially berries and salmon. They eat more in the fall so they can survive winter hibernation for several months.

26. Bears are the only large predators that regularly eat both meat and plants. For this reason, they have large canines and smaller incisors for catching and killing prey, as well as large molars (broad flat teeth in the back of the mouth) that are used for crushing and grinding plant food. They also have massive skulls and strong jaw muscles that enable them to eat a varied diet.

27. Grizzly bears have sharp, curved claws up to five inches long on their front feet that are used for digging up food such as roots and invertebrates, catching fish, tearing apart rotten logs in search of food, or slicing into plant or animal matter. Their claws can come in handy when the bears dig their dens for winter hibernation. The claws can also be used as weapons in a fight.

28. Grizzlies have a large snouts and noses with a sharp sense of smell to help them sniff out food items. Bears also communicate by scent marking on trees and bushes, as well as with their urine and feces. Their extraordinary sense of smell provides bears with information about the world around them and helps compensate for their poor eyesight, and is even better than their hearing.

29. Grizzly bears can run up to 35 miles per hour for short distances.

30. When bears stand upright, it is not to get ready to charge but to test the wind and to see better.