Grizzly bears, also called brown bears, are one of the largest North American land mammals. They live mainly in Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington.

Grizzly bears are massive animals. Larger than the black bear, the grizzly bears stand about 7 feet tall and weigh anywhere between 300 to 900 pounds. They have an elevated forehead and a large hump (created by muscle mass) over the shoulders.

Grizzlies are omnivorous (eating both plants and other animals). Their diet comes from animal carcasses, grasses, roots, berries, nuts, insects, fish, rodents, and sometimes small and large mammals.

The grizzly bear must eat enough to store huge amounts of fat needed to sustain it through its long winter sleep. Grizzlies begin looking for a place to dig their dens in the early fall and entering in October or November. During the next 5 to 6 months, the grizzly will get no water or nourishment of any kind, but will use up it accumulated fat.

Male grizzly bears usually emerge from the den in March or April, while females emerge in late April or May.

Mating season is from June through July. Grizzly bear embryos do not begin to develop until the mother begins her winter hibernation.

In January, after a 6-8 week gestation, cubs are born. The cubs will weigh only a pound or less when born.

Cubs remain dependent upon their mother's milk for almost a year, stay with their mother for 2 to 3 years, and reach breeding maturity at about 4½ to 5½ years. Grizzlies usually live to be 15 to 20 years of age, and a few survive for up to 30 years.

There are at least 350 grizzlies living in the northwestern Montana Rockies, about 250 in or around Yellowstone National Park, about 25 in Selkirk Mountains in northern Idaho and northeast Washington, another 20 or so in the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem in northern Idaho and western Montana, and 5 to 20 in the North Cascades. They are estimated to number more than 30,000 in Alaska. There are about 22,000 grizzly bears in Canada.

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