Species Name: Brown Bear (classification of Grizzly) (Ursus arctos).

Size: Height at the shoulders- 4.5 feet, Length 6-7 feet, weight 800-1200 pounds at 8 to 9 years of age. A full grown Brown Bear can reach up to 1700 pounds making it the world's largest terrestrial.

History: Alaskan Brown Bear was once regarded as a separate species than the Grizzly and is now categorized as a brown northwestern coastal Grizzly.

Description:

• Yellowish-brown to black, often with white-tipped hairs giving a grizzled appearance
• Hump over shoulders
• Facial profile usually somewhat concave
• Outer pair of incisors larger than inner two
• Claws of front feet nearly 4 inches long

Habitat: These mammals prefer semi-open country usually in a mountainous region. They range from Alaska, Yukon, and the Mackenzie District of Northwest Territories southward into most of British Columbia and into parts of south central Nevada.

Food: Fish, insects, small mammals Elk, Moose, and Mountain Goats also make up the diet. The bear will return to the cache until all meat is consumed.

Breeding: The Brown Bear mates in late June to early July and produces one litter of 1-4 each year. They young are born in January thru March. Amazingly the new born cubs weight around 1 pound and are about the size of rats.

Bed: Oval depression of about 1 foot deep, 3 feet wide, 4 feet long are found in thickets. The bed lining is made up of matted leaves or needles and sometimes small boughs. The bear will return to a good den year after year.

Cool Facts:

• Primarily nocturnal.
• Is a slow clumsy walker and moves it's head back and forth, but when needed it can lope as fast as a horse.
• These bears can put on as much as 400 pounds of fat.
• These bears are not true hibernators and are awakened easily.
• During Salmon spawning these solitary creatures congregate along rivers. Fights erupt often during this time. Once dominance is established these fights lessen and territories are declared.
• These bears are considered unpredictable and dangerous, but it does prefer to avoid man if at all possible.

References: National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals

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