North American Grizzly Bear

Fighting a Losing Battle

Grizzly Bear

Ursus arctos horribilis

By: Cody Sousa

Description and Ecology

Contrary to popular belief, grizzly bears are actually reclusive creatures.  They are “intelligent, curious, and have excellent memory, particularly regarding where food sources are located” (http://westernwildlife.org/grizzly-bear-outreach-project/biology-behavior/). In addition, grizzly bears have excellent senses.  Their eyesight, hearing, and smell are especially advanced.  While often shown by the media to be ravenous predators, grizzly bears are known to alter their habits to be more active during times in which humans would be less present.  Living to be around 20 to 25 years old, grizzly bears can begin reproducing as early as 3 years of age.  These litters normally bring 2 cubs, but can bring as many as 4.  Only half of the bear cubs born will survive past their first year.  Grizzly bears are omnivores, but their diet mainly consists of grasses, berries, bulbs, roots, and fungi.  In some areas, a grizzly bear’s diet will consist of less than 10% fish or meat (http://westernwildlife.org/grizzly-bear-outreach-project/biology-behavior/).  Grizzly bears are most often found in upper elevation mountains and lower elevation wetlands.  Females need much less habitat space, 50 to 300 miles compared to 200 to 500 for males (http://westernwildlife.org/grizzly-bear-outreach-project/biology-behavior/).  Grizzly bears spend 4 to 6 months a year hibernating, but are known to be easily woken during this time.

Geographical and Population Changes

North America, the grizzly bear’s range first extended from California to the mid-plains.  The bear population was flourishing until westward expansion caused a rapid recession in the population of the lower 48 states, decreasing from over 50,000 to less than 1,000 between the years 1800 and 1975 (Servheen).  With continuing human development, these bears were eradicated from Texas, Utah, Oregon New Mexico, and Arizona before 1935.  Now, only national parks and wilderness areas of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have self perpetuating or remnant populations (Servheen).  Some areas have been identified as areas that could support grizzly bear recovery, including the Bitterroot Ecosystem and the North Cascades Ecosystem.

 

Reason for Listing and Listing Type/Date

The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) was listed as threatened on July 28, 1975, determining that the grizzly bear was likely to become an endangered species in the near future.

Cause of Listing and Main Threats to Continued Existence

Grizzly bears were listed because they have lost much of their habitat and range in the past couple centuries. The grizzly bear was originally widely distributed throughout North America, and current distribution is reduced to less than 2 percent of its former range (Servheen).  Habitat loss along with human caused mortality is to blame for the drastic increase in population.

Recovery Plan Description

The 1993 Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan goes into great depth on how to get the grizzly bear off of the threatened species list. The factors that limit both population and habitat will need to be determined and solutions to solve those issues will need to be found. Techniques should be developed that can move bears from source areas to sink areas. In the areas deemed grizzly ecosystems, human-bear conflict should be minimized while improving education to develop better support for the species.  Also, habitat loss or degradation as a result of human actions should be limited.  Habit and security for the grizzly bears should be improved.  During this recovery process, research on both the bears and their habitat should be conducted to ensure that enough information is available for the conservation managers to make educated decisions.

More information

http://www.defenders.org/grizzly-bear/basic-facts

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/grizzly-bear/

Works Cited

"Grizzly Biology & Behavior - Western Wildlife Outreach." Western Wildlife Outreach. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 June 2015. <http://westernwildlife.org/grizzly-bear-outreach-project/biology-behavior/>.

Servheen, Christopher. "Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan." (n.d.): n. pag. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Web. <http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/930910.pdf>.