North American grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) are a genetic variety of brown bears, which were first detected in the fossil record relatively recently (about 500,000 years ago). Although grizzly bears belong to the order of carnivores (flesh-eating mammals), they exhibit many traits that allow them to subsist on a highly varied non-meat diet that can, at times, consist almost entirely of fibrous vegetation. Grizzly Bear Foraging Behavior
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Grizzy bear adults are large for a carnivore and, depending on the quality of habitat, weigh between 200 and 1000 pounds. This large size allows them to subsist on a lower quality diet by reducing the amount of energy that they need per pound of body weight. Large size also facilitates the long-range movements and very large ranges that allow grizzly bears access to a wide variety of foods. In the arctic, ranges of males and females can average as large as 2,600 square miles and 810 square miles per year, respectively. Compared to North American black bears (Ursus americanus) occupying the same habitat, grizzly bears are roughly two times larger in size and have ranges between 2 and 16 times more extensive.
SBSC Grizzly Bear Contact: More Information about Grizzly Bears and Related Topics: USGS Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST): USGS Status and Trends of the Nation's Biological Resources - Rocky Mountains
(includes Grizzly Bear Information): Greater Glacial Area Bear DNA Project - Monitoring Grizzly Bear Populations
using DNA: USGS Alaska Science Center Brown Bear Projects: USGS Status and Trends of the Nation's Biological Resources - Whitebark
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