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| Sunday, 18 September 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Grizzlies... The gentle giants Remember the humongous bear in the popular television series - the Gentle Ben and also the lovable Balu, in Jungle Book? Well, today we bring you some bear facts about their relatives, the Grizzlies... Grizzly bears, once native to northern Asia and Japan, Western Europe and North America have reduced in numbers today and are mostly found in North America.
They have large, round heads with a concave(rounded inwards) facial profile. They have a hump on their shoulders. Their front claws are nearly four inches long. In size, males average about 800 pounds in coastal areas and 320 pounds in interior areas. The females are smaller. In spite of their massive size, grizzlies can run at speeds up to 35 miles per hour. Brown bears and grizzly bears are the same species. In North America, bears that live in interior areas are commonly called grizzlies and those in coastal areas are known as brown bears. Black bears are a forest-dwelling species and typically smaller than grizzlies with shorter front claws and no shoulder hump. Grizzlies are normally solitary animals. Being omnivores, they feed on a variety of vegetation and animals, such as grasses, roots, berries, insects, fish and small and large mammals. Grizzlies are found in groups only during breeding, cub rearing or when there is an abundance of food supply, such as salmon, which they love to catch from streams and rivers.
Bears hibernate during the winter for 5-8 months depending on the location. Grizzlies need to eat loads of food in the summer and autumn in order to build up sufficient fat reserves for their survival during the denning period(hibernation). Pregnant females need to ensure they are well fed during this time because they have to nurse their cubs which weigh around a pound at birth, to a growth of about 20 pounds, without eating or drinking anything, until they emerge from the dens after hibernation around April-May. Most females are attentive mothers. They tend and 'discipline' their offspring and are willing to defend them to death, if necessary. The cubs are active, and as they have short claws at this stage, love to climb trees.If a cub accidentally gets lost, it may cry and bawl in a loud harsh voice until its mother comes. Males do not help in parenting. Grizzlies can live up to 30 years in the wild though 20-25 is normal. Most of the threats to their survival come from clearing their habitats which range from dense forests to meadows, and the arctic tundra, for development. They are also mistaken for black bears and are killed by game hunters. Poaching too has a great impact in the reducing number of grizzlies. The estimated grizzly population is about 1,200 in the lower 48 states of America, about 30,000 in Alaska and approximately 25,000 in Canada. Bears are commonly silent, but when the need arises, they communicate with grunts, growls, roars or squeals (especially cubs), as well as with body postures which indicate their size and status. They may also make popping sounds with their teeth. There are only eight species of bear living in the world today. Scientists have traced the bears' complex lineage using fossil evidence and DNA. It has been discovered that all the eight species have a common ancestor, Ursavus, that lived more than 20 million years ago. Fossil evidence suggests that the Ursavus was a small omnivorous animal about the size of a fox or raccoon with a thick fur coat. Bear prints The prints of the grizzly bear are characterised by an oval pad with five toes along the wider top of the pad on the hind feet. The front foot has a smaller heel and a dew claw which may be present in the print. Claw marks over twice as long as the toe pads are usually evident.Front: 11 cm (4.4 in) long, 10 cm (4 in) wide and the rear - 18 cm (7.2 in) long and 9 cm (3.6 in) wide. Hibernation Scientists thought bears weren't true hibernators because their body temperature and respiration rate do not drop drastically as with other hibernators. But modern physiologists believe that bears do hibernate though they are not deep hibernators like ground squirrels or bats. Grizzlies enter their dens for hibernation in October or November and stay there till April-May. |
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In fact, the grizzly bears are a symbol of the American wilderness.
They are a threatened species in some American states. Their coat colours
range from shades of blond, brown, black or a combination of these. The
long, outer guard hairs are often tipped with white or silver, giving a
grizzled appearance, and this is why they are called grizzlies. 
Females breed when they are 4-7 years old and have a litter of 1-3
cubs. The young are born in January or February, when bears usually
hibernate. The cubs remain with their mothers for at least 2-4 years. 
