Grizzly Bear
Ursus arctos
Classification
Kingdom Animalia: All animals are multicellular and capable of movement at some time in their life. All are heterotrophs (consume other organisms for food).
Phylum Chordata: Animals part of this phyla have a complete digestive system, notochord (a rod that fully extends when the animal is fully developed) and have an endoskeleton.
Subphylum Vertebrata: Members of this group all have a vertebrate (backbone), they get their movement from the muscles being connected to the endoskeleton and have a digestive system which includes the liver, digestive glands and pancreas.
Class Mammalia: All mammals part of this group have hair at some time in their life. They have three middle ear bones. These organisms also all produce milk by their mammary glands.
Order Carnivora: They have teeth that are designed to cut meat, thick coats of fur to keep them warm and males tend to be larger than females.
Family Ursidae: The members of this group have small, rounded ears, small eyes and a short tail. This is a small group of mostly large mammals. Also, this group is diverse and made up of a large variety of bears.
Genus: This group is only made up of black bears, brown bears and polar bears.
Species: Ursus arctos
Natural Range Map
Grizzled Appearance
Grizzly Mom and Cubs
General Description
- Height: The average height of a grizzly bear when they are at the shoulder height is about 90 to 150 centimeters. When they are standing on their hind legs they are about 8 feet tall.
- Length: The average length of the bear's head and body 5 2/3- 9 1/5 feet or 1.7- 2.8 meters. On average the shoulder length is 3-5 feet or 0.9- 1.5 meters. Bears have very short tails the average length of the tail is 2- 8 inches or 6- 21 centimeters.
- Weight: The average weight for a grizzly bear can range from 80 kilograms to 660 kilograms. Male grizzlies tend to be about 1.8 times heavier than female grizzlies.
- Color: The grizzly bear's main color is dark brown but these colors vary from cream to almost black. Grizzly bears that live in the Rocky Mountains have little tints of white on the edges of their fur. This is where we get the name Grizzly Bear because the tint of white gives the bear a grizzled appearance.
- Natural Range: Grizzly Bears are normally found in North America, Alaska and Canada. But they can also be found in a few places in Europe.
- Diet: Grizzly bears are omnivores which means they eat plants and animals. Normally what the bear eats depends on the season and how easily they can find the food. In summer the bear eats fruits, nuts, berries, bulbs, and tubers (this food can also be found during early autumn). In the fall when the bears are getting ready to be in a dormant state, larvae is an important source of protein. In Canada, most bears are carnivores or meat eaters.
- Habitat Description: The main requirements for a grizzly bear habitat is that the area has to dense so they can shelter each day. Grizzly bears prefer areas in North America where there is a lot of space. Some common habitats in North America are desert edges, high mountain forests, ice fields (snowy fields), tundra, alpine meadows, or coastlines. In Siberia, grizzlies tend to like forests whereas in European areas, the bears are limited to the mountain woodlands.
- Predators: Because of the bears big size they don't really have many predators except for humans. It's possible baby bear cubs can have predators such as tigers, wolves, or mountain lions. It's also possible that the bear can be attacked by other bears.
Physical Adaptations
Behavioral Adaptations
References
Ballenger, L. 2002. "Ursus arctos" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 11, 2015 at http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ursus_arctos/
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Burton, M., & Burton, R. (2002). Brown bear. In International wildlife encyclopedia (3rd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 292-295). New York, NY: Marshall Cavendish.
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