Facts about Grizzly Bears
- 09
In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, grizzly bear populations rebounded from approximately 136 individuals in 1975 to over 1,000 by 2020, representing one of North America's most successful large carnivore recoveries.
- 08
Territorial male grizzly bears establish home ranges spanning 50 to 150 square miles, while females typically maintain smaller territories of 5 to 50 square miles in the same ecosystem.
- 07
Grizzly bears can consume up to 90 pounds of food daily during autumn hyperphagia, storing enough fat reserves to survive 5-7 months without eating during hibernation.
- 06
Grizzly bears can smell food from up to 20 miles away and possess a sense of smell roughly 2,000 times more sensitive than humans.
- 05
Female grizzly bears give birth to cubs during hibernation in January or February, with litters typically containing two to four offspring weighing only one pound each.
- 04
Grizzly bears possess a distinctive shoulder hump made of muscle and fat that can reach 10 inches tall, giving them leverage for digging ground squirrels and roots.
- 03
Two thousand grizzly bears currently inhabit the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem across Montana and Idaho, recovered from fewer than 700 in the 1970s.
- 02
A male grizzly bear can weigh up to 800 pounds and run at speeds of 35 miles per hour despite their massive size.
- 01
During hibernation, grizzly bears can lower their heart rate from 40 beats per minute to just 8 beats per minute.