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Post by brobear on May 3, 2017 6:36:33 GMT -5
www.wildlifepics.eu/weblog/item.php?item=65 The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos ssp.) is any North American subspecies of the brown bear, including the mainland grizzly (Ursus arctos horribilis), the Kodiak bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi), the peninsular grizzly (Ursus arctos gyas) and the recently extinct California grizzly (U. a. californicus) and Mexican grizzly bear (U. a. nelsoni). Specialists sometimes call the grizzly the North American brown bear because the grizzly and the brown bear are one species on two continents. In some places, the grizzly is nicknamed the silvertip bear for the silvery, grizzled sheen in its fur. Since the mainland grizzly is so widespread, it is representative and archetypal for the whole subspecific group. Even so, classification is being revised along genetic lines. Except for females with cubs, grizzlies are normally solitary, active animals, but in coastal areas, grizzlies gather around streams, lakes, rivers, and ponds during the salmon spawn. Every other year, females (sows) produce one to four young (usually two) which are small and weigh only about 500 grams (1 lb). A sow is protective of her offspring and will attack if she thinks she or her cubs are threatened. The word "grizzly" means "grizzled" that is, golden and grey tips of the hair. This is not to be confused with the word "grisly". Nonetheless, after careful study, naturalist George Ord formally classified the California grizzly in 1815, not for its hair, but for its character, Ursus horribilis. Thus Ord made a famous pun. Indeed there were many accounts of grizzlies fighting and beating longhorn bulls. The ancestors of the grizzly bear subspecies were brown bears originating in Eurasia that traveled to North America approximately 50,000 years ago. This is a very recent event, on an evolutionary timescale, causing the North American grizzly bear to be very similar to brown bears inhabiting Siberia and northeast Asia. The closest Eurasian subspecies to the grizzly bears are believed to be the Ussuri brown bear (U. a. lasiotus) for mainland grizzlies and the Kamchatka brown bear (U. a. beringianus) for the coastal Alaskan and Kodiak bears which arrived in North America shortly before the bering land bridge flooded. When it received its scientific name in 1815, the grizzly was classified as a separate species from all other bears. However, modern genetic testing reveals the grizzly to be a subspecies of the brown bear (Ursus arctos). So in Eurasia, it is the "brown bear", in North America, it is the "grizzly". In other words, the grizzly and the brown bear are one species on two continents. Currently, Rausch and others classify three subspecies of the new "North American brown bear", U. a. horribilis, middendorffi, and gyas. But more recent studies of mtDNA suggest that this three-fold division of living grizzlies needs revision. Further testing of Y-chromosomes is required to yield an accurate new taxonomy with different subspecies. Coastal grizzlies, often referred to by the popular but geographically redundant synonym of "brown bear" or "Alaskan brown bear" are larger and darker than inland grizzlies, which is why they, too, were considered a different species from grizzlies. Kodiak grizzly bears were also at one time considered distinct. Thus, at one time there were five different "species" of brown bear, including three in North America. Most adult female grizzlies weigh 130–200 kg (290–440 lb), while adult males weigh on average 180–360 kg (400–790 lb). The average total length in this subspecies is 198 cm (6.50 ft), with an average shoulder height of 102 cm (3.35 ft) and hindfoot length of 28 cm (11 in). Newborn bears may weigh less than 500 grams (1.1 lb). In the Yukon River area, mature female grizzlies can weigh as little as 100 kg (220 lb). One study found that the average weight for an inland male grizzly was around 270 kilograms (600 lb) and the average weight for a coastal male was around 408 kilograms (900 lb). For a female, these average weights would be 136 kilograms (300 lb) inland and 227 kilograms (500 lb) coastal, respectively. On the other hand, an occasional huge male grizzly has been recorded which greatly exceeds ordinary size, with weights reported up to 680 kg (1,500 lb). A large coastal male of this size may stand up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall on its hind legs and be up to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) at the shoulder. Although variable from blond to nearly black, grizzly bear fur is typically brown in color with white tips. A pronounced hump appears on their shoulders; the hump is a good way to distinguish a black bear from a grizzly bear, as black bears do not have this hump. Brown bears are found in Asia, Europe, and North America giving them one of the widest ranges of bear species. In North America, grizzly bears previously ranged from Alaska down to Mexico and as far east as the western shores of Hudson Bay. In North America, the species is now found only in Alaska, south through much of western Canada, and into portions of the northwestern United States including Idaho, Montana, Washington and Wyoming, extending as far south as Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, but is most commonly found in Canada. In Canada, there are approximately 25,000 grizzly bears occupying British Columbia, Alberta, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario and the northern part of Manitoba. The Alaskan population of 30,000 individuals is the highest population of any province/state in North America. Populations in Alaska are densest along the coast, where food supplies such as salmon are more abundant. In British Columbia, grizzly bears inhabit approximately 90% of their original territory. There were approximately 25,000 grizzly bears in British Columbia when the European settlers arrived. However, population size significantly decreased due to hunting and habitat loss. In 2008, it was estimated there were 16,014 grizzly bears.
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Post by brobear on May 3, 2017 6:56:31 GMT -5
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS (Craighead 1979) (Garshelis 2009) (Kurt 1990) (Pasitschniak-Arts 1993) (Sacco and Van Valkenburgh 2004) (Schwartz et al 2003) Body Weight: Male 130-550 kg (287-1213 lb); Female 80-250 kg (176-551 lb) Head/Body Length: 1-2.8 m (3.3-9.2 ft) Shoulder Height: Up to 1.5 m (5 ft) Tail Length: 60-200 mm (2-8 in) A massive bear with small, round eyes and ears, a dished-in snout, distinct shoulder hump, powerful body; only Polar Bears are heavier. Diet largely determines size (Schwartz et al 2003) Largest brown bears have access to meat, Bears with vegetable diet are smaller. Color varies from pale tan, blond, gold, many shades of brown to near black, and gray or silver. (Pasitschniak-Arts 1993) Black and partial black fur phases in eastern and central Asia. (Garshelis 2009) Grizzly's guard hairs often pale at tips Underfur grown in fall and molted in spring Males 1.2-2.2 times larger than females - extreme dimorphism. Most likely due to competition between males during breeding season. Largest Brown Bears - Western Alaska and British Columbia; Kodiak and Admiralty Islands. Teeth and skulls not as specialized for biting and shearing as those of many meat-eating dogs and cats. (Sacco and Van Valkenburgh 2004) No shearing molars (carnassials) Canine teeth long First three premolars small or not present Molars broad, flat Teeth suited for wide variety of food items from insects to large ungulates Most reliable way to distinguish a Black Bear skeleton from that of a Grizzly Bear: (Gordon 1977) Grizzly's 1st molar in lower jaw is longer than 20.4 mm (.8 in) and wider than 10.5 mm (.4 in) Other good ways to distinguish Black and Brown Bears: Grizzly has shoulder hump; Black Bear doesn't Grizzly has "dished' (concave) snout that is shorter than a Black Bear's Grizzly's ears are short and rounded; Black Bears' are larger and more pointed Grizzly's claws are much longer. Eyesight not keen but used for finding berries and nuts Hearing and sense of smell acute. Feet plantigrade (walk "flat-footed"); soles hairy Five digits on each limb Very long slightly curved claws 5-10 cm (2-4 in) Claws used for digging; not well adapted for climbing trees Female has 6 teats Digestive tract similar to other carnivores except for its length (more surface for absorbing plant nutrients) No fat deposits on artery walls (no arteriosclerosis); can gain significant weight in autumn (and lose in spring) with no ill effects. (Craighead 1979) Recent studies suggest bears finely regulate calcium levels in blood and prevent its deposition in artery walls, which in turn prevents plaque build-up. (Gamble 2006) Physiology differs from other carnivores - have a period of winter dormancy (hibernation) with profound changes in body chemistry, metabolism, breathing rate, and moderate changes in body temperature (Schwartz et al 2003) Females with young may loose up to 43% of body mass during denning. (Garshelis 2009) Polar-Bear/ Grizzly hybrids are fertile (Davis 1950)
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Post by brobear on May 3, 2017 7:01:20 GMT -5
Interspecies Interaction (Murie 1985) (Podruzny et al 1999) (Mowat & Heard 2006) Grizzly bears and Brown Bears naturally adapted to exploiting temporary but abundant food items (Craighead et al 1995) Feasting on whale carcasses or salmon runs are examples Visiting human garbage dumps only an extenstion of this behavior Range overlaps that of American and Asiatic Black Bears (U. americanus, U. thibetanus) May compete with other carnivores for food (Pasitschniak-Arts 1993) Mountain lions Bobcats Lynx Wolves Wolverines Foxes Eagles and ravens attempt to scavenge bears' kills Also may make kills because of bears' attempts to catch small rodents Population densities of Brown Bears in Arctic are greater when they have access to abundant caribou. Observations by Murie (1985) at McKinley National Park: Caribou populations are culled by grizzlys - calves, old, diseased, and remains of wolf-killed carcasses all enrich Grizzly's diets. Moose calves preyed upon by grizzlys; a female moose attacks bears to protect calf Grizzlys rarely have an opportunity to kill Dall Sheep; carcasses of these sheep occasionally add to the grizzly diet Ground squirrels often caught above ground and below, in burrows Considerable effort sometimes required, lasting up to 40 minutes in one observation Whitebark Pine habitat vital to grizzly survival in Yellowstone National Park (Podruzny et al 1999) Habitat serves as refuge. Red Squirrel caches of Whitebark Pine seeds an important grizzly food resource A fungus, the White Pine blister rust, is decimating Whitebark Pine populations in North America.
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Post by brobear on May 3, 2017 10:48:49 GMT -5
The North American Grizzly Bear (Ursus Arctos Horribilis) As I said before, the Grizzly inhabits the same area as his larger cousin, but he also inhabits other parts of North America. This area includes 100 miles north of the Brown Bears range in Alaska, across the southern two thirds of the Yukon Territory, to just north of Great Bear Lake, down to Relliance to Fort Resolution in the North West Territories. All of Alberta and British Columbia, with the exception of the Vancouver area. The western one fifth of Saskatchewan. From Cut-Bank to Missoula in Montana and across to Coeur d' Alene Idaho. Also extreme northern Washington state. They also inhabit a few pocket areas in the lower 48 states. In northwest California near Eureka up to the southern coastal area of Oregon. Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. They are very few who inhabit a pocket east of Salt Lake City Utah, thru Evanston and Rock Springs Wyoming, to Hot Sulfer Springs, Aspen and Grand Junction Colorado and back towards Provo Utah. The population numbers include the Grizzly, Alaskan Brown and Kodiak as one entire population. There are approx. 50,000 in all. Scarcely 900 in the lower 48 states. The Grizzly will weigh in from 500 to 700 lbs. Some have been recorded larger. Standing at 6 to 7 feet on the average. The difference of these Bears compared to the Black Bear, other than their size, fur and color is they have long tapering claws. They are unable like the Black Bear to climb trees once they become adult Bears, but the advantage of their claws is they are much more powerful at digging. They also have a hump on their shoulders and not as timid in nature. Yet they are still omnivores. The Grizzly got his scientific name, Ursus Horribilis from the Latin word meaning Horrible Bear. He acquired this name when the settlers started moving west. As the Indian and White man wars began and continued, many of both sides were killed. Too many to bury. The Grizzly began feeding on the human remains and found man to be easy prey. They began to attack man. Hence forth their new name. The Grizzly was then hunted and killed in sport. During the ranchero days of southern California, man had Bear and Bull fights. In the early 1900's, the last Grizzly was killed in southern California. The 1940's, the last in Arizona, and in 1957 the last in New Mexico. They became almost extinct in the Lower 48 states. Barely 50 in the mid 1960's. There are two maps showing the Grizzly's past and present ranges. From the pre-1800 map, there may have been a few pockets of inhabitants east of the map range.
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Post by brobear on Jan 3, 2018 12:45:19 GMT -5
The grizzly originated on an open tundra in China. But, they are extremely versatile. The American prairie was once home to thousands of grizzlies. The Alaskan Yukon and the Canadian tundra are home to grizzlies. High altitudes in mountainous locations and out on the Gobi desert. But yes, there are also forest grizzlies like the Amur brown bear ( black grizzly ). For the most part, grizzlies are pushed into remote food-poor locations. Even the famous Yellowstone area is a harsh food-poor habitat for bears. That is why, when the dumpsters were closed down, the grizzly size average shot down. A good healthy well-fed ( on natural foods ) mature male should weigh from 600 to 800 pounds. Notice that the N. American grizzly, even after thousands of years, never ventured into the thick forests of the Eastern U.S.A.
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Post by brobear on Jan 27, 2018 3:11:27 GMT -5
Migratory bears down in the dumps Human food sources dramatically alter bear behavior Date: June 23, 2016 Source: University of Utah Summary: Biologists working in Turkey discovered two surprising facts about a group of 16 brown bears: First, six of the bears seasonally migrated between feeding and breeding sites, the first known brown bears to do so. Second, and more sobering, the other 10 bears stayed in one spot all year long: the city dump. University of Utah biologists working in Turkey discovered two surprising facts about a group of 16 brown bears: First, six of the bears seasonally migrated between feeding and breeding sites, the first known brown bears to do so. Second, and more sobering, the other 10 bears stayed in one spot all year long: the city dump. The behavioral split between the two bear groups shows how dramatically the availability of food, particularly human-related food sources, can change bears' lifestyles. Understanding the difference in behaviors is key to designing conservation strategies among increasing human-caused fragmentation of the bears' habitats. "Bears are an incredible species that can adapt to many different environments," says graduate student Mark Chynoweth, a member of the research team along with U biologist Çagan Sekercioglu and colleagues from Switzerland, Croatia and Turkey. Their work is published in the Journal of Zoology, with co-authors Gabriele Cozzi and Arpat Ozgul from Zurich University, Josip Kusak from University of Zagreb, and Emrah Coban and Aysegul Coban from Kafkas University. Swiping picnic baskets. Today's visitors to U.S. national parks, especially Yellowstone and Yosemite, are confronted with the consequences of past visitors allowing bears to get too close to human establishments. Feeding the bears used to be a commonplace highlight of a Yellowstone visit. Up until World War II, the park even erected bleachers near park dumpsters so visitors could watch the bears come eat every night. Now, visitors are instructed to not even leave empty coolers in cars, because bears have learned to associate the boxy plastic coolers with a quick snack -- and may tear the door off to get to it. Yogi Bear's running gag about stealing picnic baskets has now become a major wildlife management problem. In northeast Turkey, the problem is much the same. Brown bears from nearby forests feast in the Sarikamis city dump at night. Because dump-feeding is hardly a natural behavior for bears, Sekercioglu, Chynoweth and colleagues set out to learn just how much the dump had affected local bear behavior. Sekercioglu had first visited northeastern Turkey in 2001 to study butterflies. The region connects two of the 35 global biodiversity hotspots, the Caucasus and the Iran-Anatolia hotspots. After hearing about populations of wolves and brown bears in the area, Sekercioglu started studying wildlife with camera traps in 2006 and started tagging bears with satellite tracking collars in 2012. He and his colleagues tagged a total of 16 bears in and around the small town of Sarikamis, adjacent to Sarikamis Forest Allahuekber Mountains National Park (SAMNP) and started watching where they went. GPS receivers recorded the location of the bears every hour. Tagging the bears, Sekercioglu says, "was a great thrill." and became the subject of Turkey's first National Geographic wildlife documentary, "Sar?kam??: Tracking the Brown Bear." Dump divers The tracking data from the bears showed two very distinct foraging behaviors. Six bears, dubbed "wild" bears, made regular seasonal migratory trips of more than 100 km (62 miles) and up to 250 km (155 miles) round trip from a dry, overgrazed pine forest to a rich, wet oak forest, stocking up on food before hibernation. "Brown bears are known to travel long distances in search of food," Chynoweth says. But the behavior he observed was more than just a long-range hunt for dinner. The repeated seasonal trips between hibernation and feeding grounds could be considered migration. "Other bear species do migrate, most notably polar bears," Chynoweth says. But no one had ever seen migration in brown bears before. In an undisturbed ecosystem, brown bears have no need to migrate, Chynoweth says. All of the food they need can usually be found near their hibernation and breeding grounds. But the bears of Sarikamis Forest live in a Scots pine forest with few nuts or fruits in the understory, and may have established migratory patterns to find food outside of their normal hibernation area. "Despite their large size and slow looks, bears can also cover a lot of distances at a steady, tank-like pace across all sorts of terrain and back in search of food resources," Sekercioglu says. The other 10 bears didn't migrate at all, though. They stayed all year-round near the most reliable source of food they could find: The Sarikamis city dump. The dump bears' "residential" lifestyle further highlights the bears' ability to adapt their behavior to food sources, though the researchers fear that closing the dump may not return the bears to their previous wild ways. Re-wilding Yogi Bear Closing the dump, the researchers write, could result in one of three scenarios. The first sees the bears dying of malnutrition, an unlikely outcome given bears' knack for finding food. The second, and most likely possibility, is that the dump bears, who are already habituated to humans, venture farther into Sarikamis to forage and inevitably come into contact and conflict with humans. A third possibility sees the dump bears returning to their regular migrations. In 2008, long before bear tracking began, Sekercioglu had proposed Turkey's first wildlife corridor, a reforestation effort to connect areas of fragmented forest and provide habitat and cover for migrating animals. The slow reforestation process began in 2013. To Sekercioglu's delight, the wild bears' migratory path coincides with the previously proposed corridor route. Connecting wildlife "The borders of a national park or other protected area do not 'contain' wildlife," Chynoweth says. The protected SAMNP covers only 225 km2 (87 miles2) while the ranges of some brown bears' the authors tracked extended over 1600 km2 (618 miles2). Human disturbances outside protected areas, such as garbage dumps, can still influence wildlife. Still, an understanding of bear behavior can lead to expansion and connection of protected areas, such as the wildlife corridor, that are tailored for animals' maximum benefit. "We hope that this corridor, by providing more forest and increasing forest connectivity, will encourage more bears to move/migrate to the wet Black Sea/Caucasus forests," Sekercioglu says, but adds: "It is pretty hard for garbage bears to give up garbage." www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160623100906.htm
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Post by brobear on Oct 2, 2018 14:27:45 GMT -5
www.bearconservation.org.uk/stickeen-brown-bear/ Accepted scientific name: Ursus arctos stikeenensis (Clinton Hart Merriam, 1914); however many authorities recognise only two subspecies of brown bear in North America: the grizzly bear (U.a. horribilis) and the Kodiak bear (U.a. middendorffi). This places these “Stickeen” brown bears in the subspecies U.a. Horribilis. In 1918 Clinton Hart Merriam divided the North American brown bears into 86 subspecies based upon small physical differences, mainly relating to skull measurements. Over time this list has been reduced but some experts believe that there is still sufficient evidence to warrant classifying five North American subspecies in addition to the widely accepted grizzly and Kodiak bear subspecies. In this website we include those five subspecies; the Stickeen brown bear (U.a. stikeenensis) being one of them. However, much of the following information, other than range, is similar or identical to that given on the pages for the Alaskan (U.a.alascensis), Dall (U.a. dalli), Peninsular (U.a. gyas), and Sitka (U.a. sitkensis) brown bears. Description: A large bear, most commonly dark brown in colour but can range from blonde through to black. The often grizzled appearance is caused by the light coloured tips of the long guard hairs over the shoulders and back. The bears have a distinctive hump on the shoulders and a slightly dished profile to the face. The front claws are noticeably long. There is considerable variation in size depending upon the food available. Adult males typically weigh 135 to 390 kg, females 95 to 205 kg. Adults are usually between 90 and 110 cm at the shoulder. Bears from the interior are around two-thirds the size of the coastal and island brown bears of Alaska and British Columbia. Range: Northwestern mainland of Canada, in an inland area of British Columbia comprising the Skeena River, the head of Finlay River and the Dease Lake region up into the Yukon Territory. Habitat: Forests in remote mountainous regions and in river valleys and lake basins. Status: Brown bears are listed as “of least concern” by the IUCN and listed in CITES Appendix II. There are around 16,000 brown bears in total in Canada, less than 1,500 of which are located in the central and north coast areas of British Columbia. Life span: Around 20 to 30 years in the wild. Food: The bears are omnivorous and eat plants, grasses, sedges, roots, tubers, seeds, berries, salmon, small mammals and carrion. They will also predate upon moose and caribou, particularly newborn animals. Behaviour: The bears reach sexual maturity between the ages of four and seven years. Mating occurs between May and July. The bears go into winter dens usually in October or November and emerge in April, May or June. Cubs are born in the den in January and February, litters usually being of two or three cubs but can be of one or four. They will remain with the mother for two to three years during which time she will not become pregnant again. Except for mating and for mothers with cubs, grizzly bears are solitary although they will congregate in groups where there are plentiful sources of food, such as spawning salmon. Threats: There is some risk of habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, and the resultant conflicts with humans. Poaching including for body parts to be used in medicine seems to be an increasing threat for all bears although the relative isolation of these bears may afford them some protection from this. In December 2017 the government of British Columbia banned hunting of grizzly bears in the Province. It seems likely that these bears are or will soon be affected by climate change either directly or indirectly as habitat and food sources change or disappear. 390 kilograms is equal to 859.80 pounds (avoirdupois)
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Post by BruteStrength on Nov 22, 2018 2:16:40 GMT -5
The grizzly bear is a kind of brown bear. Many people in North America use the common name “grizzly bear” to refer to the smaller and lighter-colored bear that occurs in interior areas and the term “brown bear” to refer to the larger and typically darker-colored bear in coastal areas. However, most of these bears are now considered the same subspecies. In North America there are two subspecies of brown bear (Ursus arctos): the Kodiak bear, which occurs only on the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago, and the grizzly bear, which occurs everywhere else. Brown bears also occur in Russia, Europe, Scandinavia, and Asia. Grizzly bears are large and range in color from very light tan (almost white) to dark brown. They have a dished face, short, rounded ears, and a large shoulder hump. The hump is where a mass of muscles attach to the bear’s backbone and give the bear additional strength for digging. They have very long claws on their front feet that also give them extra ability to dig after food and to dig their dens. Grizzly bears weigh upward of 700 pounds (315 kilograms). The males are heavier than the females and can weigh up to 1,700 pounds (770 kilograms). A large female will weigh up to 800 pounds (360 kilograms). www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Grizzly-Bear
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Post by brobear on Dec 8, 2018 7:25:50 GMT -5
fieldguide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=AMAJB01020 Grizzly Bears have a massive head with a prominent nose, rounded inconspicuous ears, small eyes, short tail and a large, powerful body (Pasitschnaik-Arts 1993). The facial profile is concave and there is a noticeable hump above the shoulders. The claws on the front feet of adults are about 4 inches long and slightly curved. Grizzly Bears range widely in color and size. The most prevalent coloration of Grizzly Bears in Montana is medium to dark brown underfur, brown legs, hump and underparts, with light to medium grizzling on the head and back and a light patch behind the front legs. Other forms, lighter or darker with varying levels of grizzled hair patches, occur in lesser numbers. Although extremely variable depending on the season, adults are around 185 centimeters long (Foresman 2012) and weigh around 200 kilograms in males and 130 kilograms in females (Kasworm and Manley 1988). No true migration occurs, although Grizzly Bears often exhibit discrete elevational movements from spring to fall, following seasonal food availability (LeFranc et al. 1987). They are generally at lower elevations in spring and higher elevations in mid-summer and winter. In Montana, Grizzly Bears primarily use meadows, seeps, riparian zones, mixed shrub fields, closed timber, open timber, sidehill parks, snow chutes, and alpine slabrock habitats. Habitat use is highly variable between areas, seasons, local populations, and individuals (Servheen 1983, Craighead and Mitchell 1982, Aune et al. 1984). Historically, the Grizzly Bear was primarily a plains species occurring in higher densities throughout most of eastern Montana. Grizzly Bears are opportunistic and adaptable omnivores. Grizzly Bears have a large vegetative component (more than half) to their diet and have evolved longer claws for digging and larger molar surface area to better exploit vegetative food sources. Grizzly Bears feed on carrion, fish (Yellowstone cutthroat trout are a large seasonal component of the diet for Yellowstone Grizzly Bears), large and small mammals, insects, fruit, grasses, bark, roots, mushrooms, and garbage. They often cache food and guard it. In the Yellowstone region, ungulate remains and rodents were a major portion of early season scats; grasses, sedges and herbs dominated in May and June, with whitebark pine seeds, fish and berries being most prevalent in late season scats when Grizzly Bears become hyperphagic (Mattson et al. 1991a, b). Whitebark pine seeds appear to be so important to Grizzly Bears that there is a correlation between Grizzly Bears killed in control actions and the success of the whitebark pine crop. More fatalities have been recorded during poor crop years when Grizzly Bears forage at lower elevations and come into contact with humans more often. Grizzly Bears often feed on insect aggregations (e.g., army cutworm moths, ladybird beetles). In the Yellowstone ecosystem, alpine insect aggregations are an important source of food, especially in the absence of high-quality foraging alternatives in July and August of most years (Mattson et al. 1991a, b). Grizzly Bears have been known to kill and consume American Black Bears (Gunther et al. 2002). Grizzly Bears are known to feed on a wide variety of plants (36 to 74 species) in Montana. Food habits vary locally, seasonally and individually. Generally, Grizzly Bears feed on graminoids, forbs, rodents and carrion in spring. In summer, they feed on forbs, fruit, horsetails, insects, and roots; in fall, berries and pine nuts predominate (Craighead and Mitchell 1982, Servheen 1983, Aune et al. 1984). Yellow sweet-vetch is an important food with wide distribution (Edge et al. 1990).
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Post by King Kodiak on Jan 30, 2019 21:35:23 GMT -5
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Post by brobear on Jan 31, 2019 3:36:50 GMT -5
Old Scarface was my favorite for years. As the "Boss of the Woods" in Yellowstone during his reign, he was made famous from the reports of bear biologists, park rangers, and wildlife photographers.
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Post by King Kodiak on Jan 31, 2019 5:38:08 GMT -5
Old Scarface was my favorite for years. As the "Boss of the Woods" in Yellowstone during his reign, he was made famous from the reports of bear biologists, park rangers, and wildlife photographers. Yeah, it was Yellowstone’s most studied bear. the way he ended was sad though. At least he was 25 years old.
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Post by King Kodiak on Jan 31, 2019 17:06:43 GMT -5
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Post by King Kodiak on Jan 31, 2019 20:20:55 GMT -5
BARREN GROUND GRIZZLY BEARS.
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Post by brobear on Feb 1, 2019 13:30:11 GMT -5
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Post by tom on Feb 1, 2019 13:55:00 GMT -5
Awesome preview Brobear. I really like his quotes. A former hunter who's life was seemingly spared by a Bear who likely could have killed him but didn't. His life changed from then on and never again carried a gun in Grizzly country. Quote: "Guns will normally get you into more trouble than will get you out of trouble" I thought that was an interesting quote.
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Post by King Kodiak on Feb 1, 2019 18:07:23 GMT -5
GRIZZLY BEAR EATING AN ELK. (PROBABLY HAS 5 OR 6 INCH CLAWS)
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Post by brobear on Feb 1, 2019 18:14:07 GMT -5
GRIZZLY BEAR EATING AN ELK. (PROBABLY HAS 5 OR 6 INCH CLAWS). Obviously early Spring. During the year, his nails will gradually wear down to roughly 3 inches by late Autumn. Then, during hibernation, they grow. This bad boy appears to have maybe claws measuring from 6 to 8 inches. Looks like he is ready to star in a slasher film.
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Post by King Kodiak on Feb 1, 2019 18:36:03 GMT -5
Yeah brobear. I think i have never seen claws so long. those claws look like daggers. You dont want to get hit by that bear there.
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Post by King Kodiak on Feb 4, 2019 6:19:50 GMT -5
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