The Grizzly Bear
by Tyler
What could knock down a buffalo with 1 swipe of its paw? What could carry off a 1,000 pound elk? Or what could out run a racehorse? Well of course the Grizzly Bear could.
The thing that makes the Grizzly look different from other bears is its thick, brown fur. Its average height is from 5 to 8 feet tall and up to 3 feet at shoulder height. Guess what! Some males could weigh over 1,000 pounds. The male’s average weight is usually from 300 to 850 pounds. The female’s average weight is from 200 to 450 pounds. Males are much bigger than female’s. It has a wide head and a long dog like nose. Their eyes are on the front of its head unlike herbivores which have their eyes on the sides of their heads. It has small eyes and ears and a big nose because it doesn’t need its sense of sight and hearing as much as its sense of smell.
Most people think the Grizzly Bear is a mean, ferocious animal but it is not. The Grizzly Bear hibernates from 5 to 8 months during the winter. They live by them selves except during breeding season, cub rearing, and in places where there is a lot of food. Females have around 1 to 3 cubs. A female usually has around 8 cubs its lifetime. They have to eat a lot of food during the winter in order to store food in their body for hibernation. They are omnivores which mean they eat meat and they vegetate. They eat grasses, sedges, roots, berries, insects, fish, carrion, and moose elk, and caribou.
Grizzlies need a lot of space to roam. Some Grizzlies live in dense forests, some live in subalpine meadows, and some live in the arctic tundra. These large creatures are found in Western Canada, Alaska, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and Washington. The Grizzly sleeps in a den deep in the ground.
The Grizzly Bear is often mistakenly killed by hunters that are hunting the legal to hunt and kill Black Bear. Some Grizzly Bears are illegally poached for meat fur and body parts. The Grizzly Bears biggest threat is in the lower 48 states by human caused mortally.
Did you know that a Grizzly’s top speed is 35 MPH. The Grizzly Bear could reach its top speed of 35 MPH faster than any sports car. It gets its name by giving a grizzled appearance from the white tips on its shoulders. If you knew all of these facts you know a lot about the Grizzly bear.
I think that the Grizzly Bear is one of the most interesting animals in the U.S., but we have to help it. We can help by sending donations to the Defenders of Wildlife organization. Also man could help by making stricter laws that could protect them and their habitat. And by making people aware that the Grizzly is an endangered species. Only man could help these charismatic mega-vertebrates survive in the United States.