Scientists classify any North American subspecies of the
brown bear as a grizzly bear – although they’ve actually assigned them the name
of a “North American Brown Bear”. However it was first given the name of the
Grizzly bear due to its characteristic long, ‘grizzly’ hair. Characteristically,
they’re very solitary, active animals. They gather once a year for the “great
salmon run”- where they gather at rivers to catch the mass migration of salmon.
These bears have one of the lowest reproduction rates across the whole of North
America. This is due to many reasons, one being that they reach sexual maturity
at around 5 years old – a lot later than most land mammals in North America.
When they do reproduce, a female bear produces on average 2 cubs a litter. Once
the cubs leave or are killed, the female might not produce a second litter for
perhaps 2 or 3 years later.
Surprisingly, Grizzly Bears play a huge ecological role;
they have mutualistic relationships with some plants, spreading their seeds. The
bears actually help by increasing species diversity in the plants on the forest
floor.
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