Grizzly Bear

The grizzly bear is a large brown bear that lives in western North America. It is a type of brown bear, the same species found in parts of Europe and Asia. Grizzlies live in Alaska, western Canada, and in a few areas of the lower 48 states, like Montana and Wyoming. An adult male usually weighs 400 to 800 pounds. A big male can stand 8 feet tall on his hind legs, taller than the ceiling in most houses.

The name "grizzly" comes from the silver-tipped hairs on the bear's back. Those hairs give the fur a frosted, or "grizzled," look. Grizzlies also have a large hump of muscle on their shoulders. The hump powers their front legs for digging roots, flipping over heavy rocks, and running fast. Grizzlies can sprint up to 35 miles per hour, about as fast as a racehorse.

Grizzlies are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and animals. Most of what they eat is actually plants. They dig up roots, eat berries by the thousand, and munch on grasses and nuts. They also eat fish, insects, small mammals, and animals that are already dead. In Alaska, grizzlies gather at rivers each summer to catch salmon swimming upstream. A single bear can eat 30 or more salmon in a day while fattening up for winter.

Winter is when grizzlies hibernate. A pregnant female digs a den in the fall and gives birth inside it during the winter. Newborn cubs are tiny, only about one pound, smaller than a squirrel. They drink their mother's milk in the den while she sleeps. In spring, the family walks out together. Cubs stay with their mother for two to three years, learning how to find food and stay safe.

Grizzlies once roamed across most of western North America, from Alaska down to Mexico. There may have been 50,000 of them in the lower 48 states before European settlers arrived. Hunting and loss of habitat wiped out most of them. By 1975, only about 700 to 800 were left in the lower 48, and the bear was listed as threatened. Since then, the population has slowly grown back to around 2,000. Scientists and government officials now argue about whether grizzlies have recovered enough to come off the threatened list.

For many Native American nations, the grizzly is a powerful figure in stories and ceremonies, often seen as a teacher or protector. The bear also appears on the state flag of California, even though the last wild grizzly in that state was killed about a hundred years ago.