GRIZZLY BEAR

Grizzly Bear

Grizzly bears are specially adapted to survive the changing seasons. During warmer months, they eat a massive amount of food so they can live off body fat during the winter when food is scarce. They may intake 40 kg of food each day, gaining over 1 kg (2.2 lbs.) of body weight a day. As omnivores, grizzlies will eat anything nutritious they can find, gorging on nuts, fruit, leaves, roots, fungi, insects, and a variety of animals including salmon and other fish, rodents, sheep, and elk. Their diet varies depending on what foods are available for the season.

In the fall, as temperatures cool and food becomes scarcer, grizzlies dig dens in the sides of hills. They have long rounded claws (the size of human fingers) and a large mass of muscles on their backs that help them dig. These characteristics, along with small rounded ears and white-tipped fur, distinguish grizzly bears from black bears.They have a multitude of strengths. They are highly intelligent and have excellent memories. Detecting food from great distances away, grizzlies have an astute sense of smell, even better than that of a hound dog.They are good swimmers and fast runners, reaching speeds as high as 50 km/h (35 mph) over land. Young grizzlies also have the ability to climb trees to evade danger, but this skill fades as they become bigger.