Grizzly bear project 

   
For my biology project i have chosen the ‘North American Grizzly Bear’ , i 
chose this animal as i always admired (believe it or not) the timid nature of 
this bear. 
Whenever a bear is mentioned in a movie or video you usually will hear 
them ask was it a grizzly bear as they seem to be the most common in the 
states and upon researching them i uncovered some interesting facts 
about the animal. 
 
Description 
 
The name grizzly describes the bears fear inspiring grey and golden tips 
on its fur. It’s scientific name is the ‘North American Brown Bear’. 

 
Binomial nomenclature 
Kingdom-Animalia 
Phylum-Chordata 
Class-Mammalia 
Order-Carnivora 
Family-Ursidae 
Genus-Urus 
Species-Ursus Arctos 
 
Size of these creatures may vary depending on where they live, the weight 
of a modern day grizzly bear is as follows. 
 
Inland average 
Female-130kg 
Male-270kg 
Coastal average 
Female-200kg 
Male-408kg 
 
On average 94% of coastal grizzly bears are heavier than inland grizzly 
(Yukon valley wildlife preserve). 
This is put down to a few factors however the main one being the rich 
salmon streams that thrive on the coastal areas. 
 
Origins 
 
Brown bears originated in Eurasia and traveled to North America 
approximately 50,000 years ago, spreading into the United States about 
13,000 years ago. 
In the 19th century the grizzly bear was classified as 86 distinct species but 
by 1928 only 7 grizzly species remained and by 1953 only one species 
remained globally. 
 
Morphological forms(subspecies) 
-mainland grizzly (urus arctos horribilis) 
-Kodiak bear (urus arctos middendorffi) 
-And the recently extinct California grizzly bear (urus arctos californicus). 
-its closest link being the black grizzly bear (urus arctos lasiotus) which 
live in the Eastern hemisphere such as Russia, China and Korea (colder 
areas). 
 
Modern day genetic testing has proven that a grizzly bear is a subspecies 
of the brown bear, this was determined using Y chromosome testing. 
 
Population distribution  
The grizzly population is estimated at 50,000 animals in North America, 
with only about 1200 grizzly bears found in the lower of the United States. 
British Columbia, western Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and 
Alaska is the major distribution of North American grizzly bears. There 
are also 100,000 grizzly bears estimated to live in the former Soviet 
Union​. 
 
Friend or foe? 
 
Seeing a bear in the wild is a special treat for any visitor to a national park. 
While it is an exciting moment, it is important to remember that bears in 
national parks are wild and can be dangerous. Their behavior is 
sometimes unpredictable. Although rare, attacks on humans have 
occurred, inflicting serious injuries and death. 
 
-Identify yourself by talking calmly so the bear knows you are a human 
and not a prey animal and stand still 
-Stay calm and remember that most bears do not want to attack you, they 
usually just want to be left alone. Bears may bluff their way out of an 
encounter by charging and then turning away at the last second 
-Be especially cautious if you see a female with cubs never place yourself 
between a mother and her cub, and never attempt to approach them. The 
chances of an attack escalate greatly if she perceives you as a danger to 
her cubs. 
- try appear as big as possible by maybe standing on higher ground and 
slowly moving your arms around so the bear knows you are human. 
-If you are attacked by a grizzly bear, leave your pack on and play dead. 
Lay flat on your stomach with your hands clasped behind your neck. 

 
 
Sensory functions and mechanics  
 
-Excellent sense of smell is their main tool for detecting and locating food 
as well as evading conflict 
-Short, round ears provide good hearing which is helpful in locating prey  
-Their eyes are forward, tiny and closely spaced 
-Eyesight is generally thought to be poor and comparable to that of 
humans 
-A grizzly bear was caught on video running at full speed, which can be as 
fast as 35Mph, in a national park in Wyoming, USA. By comparison, Usain 
Bolt's top speed is 27Mph. So yeah, if you get chased in real life, you're in 
trouble. 
-Grizzlies in the wild live to an average of 25 years, which is close to the 
life expectancy of most other bear species 
-The oldest grizzly found in the wild was an Alaskan bear of 35 years 
 

 
 
Nutrition  
 
As omnivores, grizzlies will eat anything nutritious they can find, gorging 
on nuts, fruit, leaves, roots, fungi, insects, and a variety of animals 
including salmon and other fish, rodents, sheep, and elk. 
 
Reproduction  
 
Female grizzly bear stop breeding in their mid 20s. The typical female 
may give birth to a maximum of 10 cubs over her lifetime, half of which 
usually die within a year. Surviving cubs usually remain with the mother 
for 2 - 3 years, during which time the mother will not mate. 
 
Growth 
 
Grizzly bears may intake 40 kg of food each day, gaining over 1 kg of body 
weight a day making them one of the fastest growing land mammals in 
weight. 
 
Respiration  
  
Similar to humans in respiration however bears have a much bigger heart 
to compensate for their large body. 
 
Movement 
Movement is one of the most important and necessary processes for a 
grizzly bear. Movement can help in dangerous situations such as: 
-Defending against dangers (predators, natural disasters) 
-Catching prey  
-Finding necessities 
 
Movement is not possible without three vital systems: 
-Skeletal 
-Muscular 
-Nervous 
  
 

 
Note bears are one of the most muscular,powerful and strongest land 
mammals hence the fact they can run to such high top speeds. 
  
Similar to humans again bears have the basic motory and sensory nerves 
in the body to trigger a response. 
 
Excretion 

 
Homeostasis 
Homeostasis is a very important process of the body of a mammal. 
Homeostasis is the maintenance of a constant internal environment and 
involves a number of protocols done to manage the body. There are six 
different types of body levels need to be controlled such as : 
 
Waste- 
-Removal of CO2 
-Removal of Urea 
 
Right amount of- 
-Iron 
-Water 
-Sugar 
-Temperature 
 
With the help of the excretory system, these six aspects can help be 
monitored and controlled at a good amount. 
 
Conclusion  
 
Overall grizzly bears are a very Intriguing, curious animals that don’t want 
to cause harm to humans , I feel strongly that we should work together to 
help prevent the extinction of grizzly bears as they are an endangered 
species and countless numbers of adults and cubs are killed yearly due to 
humans.