Bio227-1: The "Bear" Necessities: Conserving the Grizzly Bear

Source: pinstopin.com

THE "BEAR" NECESSITIES:
CONSERVING THE GRIZZLY BEAR

By: Matthieu Bouchard

NAME: Grizzly Bear

SPECIES NAME: (Ursus Arctos Horribilis)

POPULATION SIZE (TODAY): Approx. 1,500

ESA STATUS: Threatened

LISTING DATE: July 28, 1975

OVERVIEW: When people typically think of the Grizzly bear, a few images may come to mind. Maybe they imagine a bear rummaging through a campsite, or a mama bear protecting her cubs. Not many know about their status as threatened on the Endangered Species Act and how they affect the ecosystem that they are a part of. Grizzly bears are a North American subspecies of the brown bear (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/ animals/mammals/grizzly-bear/). They are also an “umbrella species” which means when they are protected, every organism in their ecosystem also gets inherently protected.

HABITAT: Grizzly bears are located in mostly the western portion of North America. Historically, they could be found anywhere ranging from as north as Alaska, as south as Mexico, as west as California, and as east as Ohio; however, now they are mostly found in Western Canada, Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and parts of the state of Washington. Their habitat terrain covers a wide array of variability. Grizzlies have been known to make their homes in dense forests, damp meadows, open plains, and arctic tundra. (http://www.defenders.org/grizzly-bear/basic-facts).

BEHAVIOR: Grizzly bears are not known to be very territorial. Often times where there is an abundance of food, you will likely see many grizzlies feeding in the same areas, such as streams with large numbers of salmon swimming in them. Although they are not territorial, they do seemingly travel in a solitary manner. Mother grizzlies are very protective of their cubs. If they feel that they or their cubs are threatened they are known to attack.

Source: annefontainefoundation.org

DIET: Grizzly bears are omnivorous. The diet of a grizzly bear consists of what is available to them as they eat pretty much anything. Depending on what is abundant in their habitat, grizzlies eat berries, fish, elk, deer, small mammals, roots, grass, fungi, dead animals, and even insects. Their diets are very adaptable which gives them a leg up on surviving extinction. During the late summer and fall seasons, grizzlies drastically increase their caloric intake to help compensate for their winter hibernation periods.

POPULATION CHANGES: Grizzly bear populations have plummeted since the beginning of westward expansion in North America. Prior to this time, there were upwards of 50,000 grizzly bears roaming the continent. Now, the population of grizzlies is about three percent of what they used to be. The main cause for these changes is a great deal of fragmentation that is being done to their habitats. Fragmentation is when a habitat is divided into smaller sections due to a natural disaster, or in most cases, by humans harvesting the land. Fragmentation causes the bears to cluster together and form smaller populations, cutting off access from the other portions of their habitat. These smaller clusters give the bears less options for mating, which in turn generates less genetic diversity, making the smaller, isolated populations more prone to be wiped out by diseases. Another threat to grizzlies is humans in general. When grizzlies feel threatened, they often times attack, which labels them as threats to humans; and when humans feel threatened, they feel the need to eliminate the threat. Although this does not drive down the bear populations exponentially, it does not help with the conservation efforts in place to keep the grizzlies away from extinction.

EFFORTS TO SAVE: On July 28, 1975, the grizzly bear was listed as “threatened” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Since the bears were added to this list of threatened and endangered species, conservation efforts have been put in place to help increase population size of the grizzlies. The newest draft of the conservation plan for grizzly bears was drafted in May of 2013. This version of the recovery plan focuses on learning more about grizzly bears. Most of the document deals with researchers trying to discover what the main cause of the decrease in population is and figuring out ways to reverse this trend. Factors such as climate change altering grizzly bear’s normal hibernation cycles are too large to combat with just the Endangered Species Act, so the report focuses more on efforts to conserve the habitats grizzlies live in now. To do this, efforts to educate people on how to coexist in the same ranges of the bears is crucial. A portion of the recovery plan deals with educating the public about how to stay safe in the event of encountering a grizzly bear. Grizzly bears are just like any other animal, they need their basic survival sources of food, water, and space to roam. Conserving the grizzly’s habitat is what needs to be done to help increase their population and keep them from extinction. The current plan in place states that it will remain in effect until five years after the grizzly bear is moved off the threatened list.

FUN FACTS:

Grizzly cubs normally leave their mothers after two to three years. However, when they do leave, they typically do not stray too far, setting up their home ranges close to their mother’s.
When grizzly bears reproduce, they normally have cubs in sets of twins.
Female grizzlies normally have their cubs during their hibernation periods. The large amounts of food consumed prior to this time helps the mother grizzlies nourish their cubs.
Grizzly bears get their name because of their grizzled fur.
Grizzly bears can run up to thirty miles per hour.