![[Photograph]: Grizzly bear](/ipnf/eco/yourforest/wildlife/gbear/gbear.jpg) |
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Photo courtesy of Wayne Kasworm
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GRIZZLY BEAR
(Ursus arctos)
Habitat and Biology:
Grizzly bear habitats include forests, shrubfields, snowchutes and meadows. They eat a wide variety of animals and plants.
Females breed every 2 - 4 years, and cubs are born in January when the mother is hibernating. Hibernacula (where the bears
hibernate) can be under fallen trees, or in natural openings in rocky areas, or in a hollowed out place in the ground.
Management:
About 35 - 40 grizzly bears live in the Selkirk Mountains of Idaho. Another 30 - 40 occupy the Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem of
Idaho and Montana. For everyone's safety, it's important to keep food and garbage stored where grizzly bears can't get to
them. Once a bear learns to eat human food, he will remember it and cause problems for other people the rest of his life.
The Forest Service manages the national forests to provide areas of secure habitat with relatively low levels of motorized
vehicle traffic; that is why some roads are closed in grizzly bear country.
Interesting Facts:
- The grizzly bear population in the lower 48 states has shrunk to less than 2,000 from an estimated 50,000 in the early 1800s.
- The average home range of a grizzly bear in the Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem is 500 square miles (1,294 square kilometers) for
males and 142 square miles (367 square kilometers) for females.
- A grizzly bear can run almost 30 miles per hour (50 km / hr.)
Learn more about grizzly bears:
Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks' Bear Identification Program
Digital Atlas of Idaho
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Grizzly Bear Outreach Project
Be Bear Aware
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