| Bear, Brown (Grizzly) | |||
| Genus | Ursus | ||
| Species | arctos | ||
| Subspecies | arctos | ||
| Status | Endangered | ||
| Distribution | Northwest North America, the mountains of Europe, Scandinavia, and Russia | ||
| Height | 4-5 feet (1.2-1.5 meters) | ||
| Length | 6-9 feet (1.8-2.8 meters) | ||
| Weight |
Female: 265-450 pounds (120-204 kg) Male: 450-975 pounds (204-442 kg) | ||
| Behavior | When the weather becomes cold, the brown bears hibernate in dens and live off their stores of body fat until spring. | ||
| Diet | Any food available; Omnivorous | ||
| Breeding | During hibernation, the female gives birth to two or three cubs. At birth, these cubs weigh about as much as a kitten. By spring, however, they are the size of small dogs. Cubs remain with their mothers for up to one year. During that year, the mothers teach their babies how to hunt and find certain types of plants to eat. Once the mother bear is satisfied that her cub knows how to survive on its own, she will chase it away to find its own territory. The female is then free to have more cubs. | ||
| Conservation |
Brown bears once lived on the world's prairies and plains, but as more and more people move in, they have been forced to live in mountain habitats. British Columbia and Alaska still have stable numbers of these bears, but in Europe, it is in danger. These bears have been hunted for centuries. Several hundred years ago, the ruler of Switzerland shot a bear on a hunting trip and decided to name the capital after it. "Berne" means bear, but today there is not a single bear left in all of Switzerland. There are fewer than 30 wild bears living in all of Europe. Those that still survive live in the mountains of Italy. At one time, there were 100,000 grizzlies in the United States. Today, however, only a few hundred of these bears live in protected national parks. Yellowstone National Park officials have shot so many garbage-eating bears, however, that many people fear the entire species may soon be gone. | ||
| Images and Video Clips | |||
 
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| Animal Communication Panel | |||
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