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Once,
they roamed over most of the western United
States, Alaska, Canada and southern Mexico.
Today, the grizzly is found only in parts of
Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Alaska,
and Canada.
The Grizzly is bear that can weigh
up to 1,800 pounds, but most weigh in around
1,000 lbs. In the lower 48 states, they may
only weigh up to 600 pounds as adults. This
animal has the ability to stand on its hind
legs and reach heights up to ten feet. A large
hump of muscle and fat over the bear's shoulders
quickly identifies this sub-species as a grizzly.
Its shaggy fur comes in many colors--black,
cinnamon, red, blond, or a mixture of these
colors. But the bear gets its name from the
light-tipped guard hairs that give them a "grizzled"
look.
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Being
an omnivore, a grizzly bear will eat anything--insects,
wild honey, grasses, sedges, roots, mountain
sorrel, buffalo berries, fish, moose, elk,
deer, sheep, and sometimes other bears!
The
breeding season usually occurs in June and
July, when the bears reach maturity around
five years of age. The male chooses his mate
and spends about a month with her, then leaves
to continue his solitary life. The female
then finds or digs her den, where she will
sleep through the winter. She'll give birth
to her cubs in January, February or March.
(Gestation takes four or five months). Average
litter size is two, but four is not uncommon.
Weighing less than a pound, a newborn cub
gains weight quickly from the rich mother's
milk containing 33 percent fat. As they grow
up, the cubs may increase their weight as
much as 1,000 times. A deep bond unites a
mother with her cubs, and she fiercely protects
them from adult males and other predators,
until they are two years old.
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