Grizzly bear and Himalayan comparison. How is a grizzly bear different from a brown bear? And our rating opens with “Black Bear” or Baribal

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There are many large creatures living on Earth - fish, birds, animals.

One of the most outstanding representatives of the animal world is the bear: in terms of size, it is one of the most impressive creatures on our planet. From time to time, inquisitive people ask the question “how many kilograms does this animal weigh?” Bear weight awareness may be useful in different situations and even professions. For example, you can compare it with other species and determine the degree of impressiveness and thereby give yourself an account of the degree of danger of meeting with it. The information obtained about the weight of this animal will be very useful for hunters or carcass skinners. Information about how much a bear weighs will also be useful for search and rescue teams, who often look for missing or lost people in forests where bears live. For general development

this is also an important and interesting question.

What determines the weight of a bear? It is not immediately possible to give an unambiguous figure that would show how much the bear weighs, since weight polar bear

• , brown or grizzly directly depends on:
• their habitat,
• age,
• breeds,

time of year.

Individuals from various habitats can have a weight of about 150 kg - 1000 kg. However, such an impressive figure does not in the least prevent this respectable beast from possessing a high level of speed and agility. The animal can move at a speed identical to that of a racehorse - up to 60 km/h . The dexterity with which these animals move through the trees is the envy of every acrobat. Our hero climbs without excessive effort to a height of up to 30 meters (the traditional height of a nine-story building). Among people, only a professional athlete or a climber equipped with special equipment

. We should also not forget that the hero of our article wins not only in the mountaineering dispute, but also in athletics. Man, undoubtedly, loses to the owners of the forest in almost all respects, except intelligence.

By the way, let’s touch on the question of intelligence and try to find out who among the bears themselves can rightfully take the place of the strongest, largest and smartest.

northern Bear. How much does this animal - a resident of the north - weigh and what indicators are typical for a polar bear?

Although the brown representative of this species is large, it still has a larger competitor. The polar bear inhabits the snowy expanses of the Arctic. The snow cover is deeply crushed under the weight of this largest predator planet, weighing 200-300 kg in females of these frost-resistant animals.

How much do male northern whites weigh? It is not surprising, but males are only twice as large, and their weight is about 300-450 kg. The most prominent representatives of this species can reach a weight of up to half a ton. Both males and females are undoubtedly noticeably larger than their warm-loving brown brothers.

The appearance of a polar bear is also impressive. The large body of this predator can reach a length of up to 2.5-3 meters. Even the most tall people on modern earth will turn out to be only shoulder-high to this white giant in the best case scenario, if this animal, of course, stands on hind legs.

The owner of the snowy lands only looks like white, but in reality the color skin This animal has a black tint. The fur covering this animal, of course, looks white to the human eye, but at the same time it is completely transparent to ultraviolet light.

All these features make it possible to ensure ideal thermoregulation. The hairs do not prevent the penetration of ultraviolet radiation, and the sun's rays, in turn, warm the skin. In addition, this light coat color is excellent camouflage suit in the snow-white and icy northern world.

This frost-resistant animal is not only excellent at camouflaging itself: it is also an outstanding fighter, with a paw span of more than three meters. Despite its considerable weight, the polar bear is an excellent runner and it moves no worse than its brown counterpart.

How much does a brown bear weigh?

Mass and size of the brown inhabitant forest areas directly related to whether he is a female or a male. Females brown bear several times smaller and lighter than representatives of the opposite sex of their species. Their weight reaches only no more than 150 kg. The male component of this bear family exceeds the weight of the female half by a little less than half, sometimes exactly 2 times, and ranges from 200 to 300 kg.

The largest specimens, the size of which may be determined by genetic reasons or fate, can boast a mark of 450 kg. However, such solid indicators do not in the least prevent brown bears from moving silently and easily, like a knife through butter, and crossing thickets inside the forest and, if necessary, through windbreaks.

Brown bears have an innate caution, which does not allow this animal to show itself to people.

However, there may be exceptions to this rule, if the animal gets hungry. Then hunger can push the bear to do things that are usually unusual for a wild animal. A person must always remember that, being on his territory, he always very jealously monitors the boundaries of his possessions and the places where he hunts and eats.

A sudden meeting with a bear, so to speak, face to face, can be explained by his lack of vision (myopia) and the inability to clearly see objects further than 45-50 meters. However, compensating for the lack of vision, he has excellent hearing, is well oriented thanks to it and is therefore able to react to even the quietest rustle. In particular, you should be wary of “connecting rod” bears, which for some reason woke up in the middle of winter and cannot fall asleep again.

Invincible and severe grizzly

Although the figure for the weight of a brown bear inspires respect, it still does not mean that it is the largest animal on the planet. The grizzly bear represents a very serious competition for him. The average weight of this huge animal is about 700 kg. If someone decides to take a chance and weigh a grizzly bear on a scale, then the brute will need to provide at least three brown bears to counterbalance this. If the weighed individual is larger than usual, then 4-5 brown ones.

Interestingly, it was once documented that a grizzly bear shot while hunting weighed 726 kg. If he stood on his hind legs, then his height would exceed the three-meter mark, and this animal would absolutely calmly be able to look out the window on the second floor if he wanted to be a guest. Those who decide that when they meet him they will simply run away from him, do not flatter themselves and do not harbor false hopes. This bear is fast, agile and an excellent swimmer. The raking gait of this animal is often deceptive. Besides, his clumsiness is a kind of myth. In fact, clubfoot is just a feature of a bear’s gait, which consists in the fact that the animal simply steps on both right or left paws at once.

Conclusion

It has always been common for people special attitude towards bears. These are frequent heroes of legends, fairy tales, instructive stories. This is probably due to the fact that the power and greatness of this wild animal not only frightened - they often aroused admiration and a desire to imitate in the best qualities.

The image of bears is often used in heraldry. Both in our time and in ancient times, observation of the existence, characteristics and habits of this giant has not stopped. Groups of researchers from the group still carry out various activities to study bear territories.

Sensors and video cameras installed for these purposes can give a very complete picture:

• about the number of individuals in general,
• about the number of newborn babies,
• physical parameters of each individual.

This is also done in order to preserve bears as a species. After all, we must understand that only people are able to protect even such harsh and strong representatives of the animal world from harm and protect from extinction.

Brown bears appeared in Eurasia approximately 50,000 years ago. Some of them moved to North America, where they spread and live for about 13,000 years. In the 19th century, scientists classified 86 individual grizzly bears living on the North American continent. However, by 1928 science community narrowed their number to seven, and by 1953 only one species was recognized.

In 1963 it became clear that the grizzly bear was not separate species, but a subspecies of brown bear, and this has been confirmed by modern genetic testing. By external differences and habitat, several of its subspecies were identified, but the classification was revised along genetic lines, and today there are two morphological forms: Continental and coastal grizzly bear. IN scientific sources it is commonly called the North American brown bear.

External features

Like other subspecies of brown bear, Brown color The coat of a grizzly bear can range from light beige to almost black. The latter has a darker coat color on the legs and a lighter shade on the back. Representatives of the Rocky Mountains have white tips on their guard coats, which gives the animal a grayish coloration.

The external signs of a grizzly bear and a brown bear have a number of characteristic features. As animals grow older, a clearly defined hump appears in the withers area, which is good way distinguish a grizzly bear from a black bear that lives in the same areas. Small rounded ears and a croup located below the shoulder line are anatomical structures that are also distinctive for the brown bear and not inherent in the black bear. These two species are also distinguished by the length of the front claws, which in the black representative is 2.5-5 cm, and in the grizzly it is about 5-10 cm, which corresponds to the size of the claws of other subspecies of brown bear.

Size and weight

The main difference between the grizzly bear and the Eurasian brown bear is size and weight. Coastal representatives of the species are larger than those that live in the interior of the continent, and just like all of the bear family, females are smaller than males. Most adult female bears reach 130-180 kg, and males usually weigh 180-360 kg; newborn cubs do not exceed 500 grams. Average weight coastal grizzly bears weigh 408 kg for males and 227 kg for females. The corresponding weights of continental bears are 272 and 227 kilograms.

Average sizes of the subspecies:

• length -198 cm;
• height at withers -102 cm;
• length hind legs- 28 cm.

However, individuals have been recorded that are significantly larger than normal in size and weight. There is a known example of the largest grizzly bear - a coastal male weighing 680 kg and 1.5 meters high at the withers. Standing on its hind legs, this bear reached almost three meters in height. Sometimes there are superior sizes and weights of grizzlies, but they are erroneous, since they correspond to the parameters of the Kodiak, another larger subspecies of brown bear.

Range and numbers

In North America, grizzlies once lived from Alaska to Mexico. Now, including Canada and the United States, their range has been halved, and their number is 55,000 wild bears. Grizzly bear habitats are limited to Alaska, a large area of ​​western Canada, the northwestern United States including Idaho, Washington, Montana, and Wyoming, as far south as Yellowstone and the Big national parks.

Most of population lives in Alaska. There is a predominant number of bears recorded in Canada: about 25,000 individuals inhabit British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon, the northwest territories of Nunavut and northern Manitoba. The University of Alberta estimates that there were 16,014 grizzly bears in British Columbia in 2008, up from 15,075 in 2012. Modern population estimates rely on DNA sampling, capture-recapture techniques, and an improved multiple regression model.

There are about 1,500 grizzly bears left in the United States. Of these, approximately 800 individuals live in Montana, 600 bears live in the Yellowstone-Teton region of Wyoming, and 70-100 are observed in northern and eastern Idaho.

Population decline

The grizzly bear's original range in the United States included much of the southwestern states, but the population has been extirpated from most of these areas. Before California joined the United States, on its national flag the figure of a Californian grizzly bear was designated, which was a symbol of the republic. The last bear in all of California was killed in the Sierra foothills in August 1922. In Colorado, the last representative was seen in 1979. And in the vast Cascade Mountains of Washington state, there are now fewer than 20 grizzly bears.

The population decline has been significantly impacted by hunting and human developments occupying the grizzly bear's former habitats. Other factors:

• competition with other, more adapted predators;
• attacks on grizzly bear cubs;
• reproductive, biological and behavioral properties of brown bears.

Lifestyle and reproduction

Apart from females with cubs, all brown bears are solitary animals. Exceptional Feature big grizzlies bears in coastal areas North America- gather in groups near streams, lakes and rivers during salmon spawning. Each adult male grizzly bear tends personal property with an area of ​​up to 4000 km 2. Such large territory and low population density significantly complicate the search for the scent of a female. The grizzly bear hibernates 5-7 months a year.

The grizzly bear has one of the lowest reproductive rates of any land mammal in North America. Animals reach sexual maturity only at the age of at least five years. After summer mating season the female may delay embryo implantation until hibernation, which explains big difference in pregnancy - from 180 to 250 days. If the bear did not receive proper nutrition, the necessary calories and substances, then the embryo is miscarried.

Litter size ranges from one to four cubs, but more often twins or triplets are born, which the female produces during hibernation. The female bear takes care of the cubs for two years, during which she does not mate. Often bear cubs do not live to this age, becoming victims of predators. During the time spent with their mother, the cubs gain weight up to 45 kg. When two-year-old bears leave their mother, the mother bear cannot produce another litter for three or more years, depending on conditions environment.

Lifespan

The grizzly bear is a long-living animal. Males, on average, live up to 22 years, and the age of female bears often exceeds 26 years. Females live longer than males due to safer behavior and the fact that they do not participate in seasonal mating fights between males. The oldest continental wild grizzly bear was recorded in Alaska; he lived for 34 years. The oldest coastal bear lived to be 39 years old. At least 50% of captive grizzlies live to be 44 years old. But most bears die in the first years of life from predators or hunting.

Attacks on people

Like the polar bear, the grizzly bear is considered more aggressive than other species. However, threatening behavior is more often due to the protection of offspring. Mother bears guarding cubs are most prone to attack. They are responsible for 70% of cases of bear attacks on humans. At the same time, the heavy grizzly bear is rather slow and, unlike smaller black bears, does not climb trees well, and prefers to react to danger by standing still and driving away attackers with waves of its paws, growls and menacing nods of the head.

Cardall and Peter Rosen's article, "Grizzly Bear Attacks," published in the journal Emergency Medicine, noted that there were 162 reported bear injuries, including fatalities, in the United States from 1900 to 1985. This amounts to approximately two cases per year. For comparison: in the USA and Canada, up to 15 people die annually from dog attacks, and lightning strikes kill nearly 90 people per year.

Grizzly, from the English Grizzly bear or gray bear, is a name referring to one or more American subspecies of the brown bear. This is one of the largest and most dangerous predatory animals currently inhabiting our planet.

Description and appearance

The grizzly is a wild forest animal, simply incredibly large in size and extremely ferocious in nature, which makes it possible to classify it as the most ruthless and bloodthirsty species of predatory animals. The scientific name of the grizzly bear is horribilis, which means “terrible or terrible”.

Appearance

Grizzlies are characterized by a fairly massive physique. Distinctive feature The grizzly bear is represented by long, 15-16-centimeter claws, thanks to which the predator is completely unable to climb trees, but is excellent at hunting its prey. The claws are conical and arched.

This is interesting! Not only adults, but also young individuals are distinguished by very powerful and well-developed jaws, allowing them to hunt fairly large prey.

The structure of the body, as well as appearance such a bear is very similar to a brown bear, but larger and heavier, clumsy and at the same time incredibly strong. Unlike Eurasian bears, North American bears have a characteristic low skull, and also have well-developed nasal bones and a wide, straight forehead.

The tail part is noticeably shorter. While walking, adult bears waddle heavily and characteristically sway their body.

Grizzly Bear Dimensions

The height of the animal standing on its hind legs is about 2.5 meters with a weight of 380-410 kg. The neck part has a very characteristic, powerful hump, which gives the animal incredible strength. With one blow of the front paw, an adult bear is capable of killing even a fairly large wild elk or its smaller or weaker relative.

Important! The largest grizzly bear was recognized as a male who lived in the coastal zone and weighed 680 kg. Its height when rising on its hind legs reached three meters, and its height was shoulder girdle was one and a half meters.

The closest relatives of the grizzly bear are. The animal's ears have a pronounced rounded shape. Animals that live in coastal areas are much larger than individuals inhabiting the deep mainland. If the average weight of a mainland male is approximately 270-275 kg, then coastal individuals can weigh 400 kg or more.

Skin color

The shoulder part, neck area and belly of the grizzly bear are covered with dark brown thick fur, but at the ends there is a lighter coloring, giving coat attractive grayish tint. It is thanks to this shade that the species got its name grizzly, which means “gray or gray-haired.”

Compared to the more common brown bears, the grizzly bear's fur has a more intensive development; it is not only longer, but also much fluffier, so it retains heat well.

Lifespan

The average life expectancy of wild grizzly bears in most cases depends on their habitat and feeding habits. In most cases carnivorous mammal lives no more than a quarter of a century in conditions wildlife, and a little over thirty years when properly kept in captivity.

Where does the grizzly bear live?

The grizzly bear population declined significantly around the end of the nineteenth century, when mass killings of the predator were observed by farmers protecting their livestock from attacks by bears.

Although the natural distribution range of the grizzly bear has undergone some significant changes over the past century, this predator is still most often found in western North America, and also not in southern states, starting from North Dakota or Missouri. In the northern territories, the distribution range reaches British Columbia and Alaska.

Bear lifestyle

Grizzly bears fall into hibernation, which can last about six months. In order to prepare for hibernation, the predatory animal consumes a significant amount of nutritious food, after which it settles into a lair.

This is interesting! Before hibernation, an adult animal gains on average about 180-200 kg of fat.

During hibernation, the animal does not eat and does not at all fulfill its natural needs. Male grizzlies emerge from hibernation around mid-March, and females a little later - in April or May.

Grizzly bear food and prey

Grizzlies usually hunt large or medium-sized mammals. Extraction predatory bear moose often become, as well as deer and sheep.

A significant part of the diet is represented by fish, including salmon and trout. Among other things, bears eat wild birds different types and their eggs, as well as various rodents.

The grizzly prefers to use pine nuts, various tubers and berries as plant food. An important part of the grizzly's diet is meat, so the predator can hunt animals such as marmots, ground squirrels, lemmings and voles. The largest prey of grizzlies are considered to be bison and elk, as well as those thrown onto coastal zone whale carcasses, sea ​​lions and seals.

This is interesting! To feast on the honey of wild bees, a grizzly easily knocks over an adult tree, after which it completely destroys the insects’ nest.

About three quarters of the diet is plant food in the form of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and cranberries. After the glaciers disappear, bears raid fields with various legumes. In very hungry years, the animal gets close to a person’s home, where livestock can become its prey. Attract wild beast landfills can also food waste located near tourist campsites and tent camps.

Reproduction and offspring

The mating season of gray bears or grizzlies usually occurs in June. It is at this time that males are able to smell females even at very long distance, measuring several kilometers. Grizzlies stay in pairs for no more than ten days, after which they return to the solitary lifestyle already familiar to this species.

This is interesting! Unfortunately, not all cubs manage to survive and grow up. Sometimes babies become very easy prey for hungry adult male grizzlies and other predators.

Gestation by the female takes approximately 250 days, after which two or three cubs are born in January-February. The average weight of a newborn bear cub, as a rule, does not exceed 410-710 g. Grizzly cubs are born not only naked, but also blind, and also completely toothless, so food in the first months is represented exclusively by mother's milk.

The cubs go out for the first time Fresh air from the den only in late spring, around the end of April or beginning of May. It is from this moment that the female begins to gradually accustom her offspring to obtaining food independently.

As cold weather approaches, the mother bear and cubs begin searching for a new, more spacious den. Bear cubs become independent only in the second year of life, when they are already able to get enough food for themselves. Females reach sexual maturity only at three years, and males about a year later. The adult animal leads a solitary lifestyle characteristic of the species, uniting in pairs only during the mating season.

This is interesting! A special feature of the grizzly bear is the ability to interbreed with individuals of ordinary polar bears, as a result of which fertile offspring appear. Such hybrids are called polar grizzlies.

Population and species status

Currently, grizzly bears are protected, so their main habitat is represented by national parks on American territory. A significant number of individuals inhabit Yellowstone and Mount McKinley parks, as well as the Glacier park area, from where grizzly bears spread to other states.

A small population of wild predators remains in continental America, in northwest Washington and Idaho. The total grizzly bear population today is approximately fifty thousand individuals. Once every four years, authorized hunting of this formidable predator is permitted in Alaska.

According to most scientists and renowned zoologists, humans themselves are to blame for a significant portion of all collisions with grizzly bears. In the wild, bears always try to avoid people, so if the rules of behavior are observed, a person does not have the opportunity to encounter such a bloodthirsty predator.

However, we must remember that for all its clubfoot and clumsiness, an adult angry wild animal can run about a hundred meters at the speed of a galloping horse, so it is almost impossible to escape from such a predator.

North American grizzlies are very similar to brown bears that live in the forests of Russia; these two subspecies of predators are among the smartest and strongest representatives of the planet's animal world. Legends about bears are still kept in the memory of many nationalities where this fearless and treacherous beast lives. Brown bears and grizzlies are very similar to each other; after all, they are part of the same subspecies of animals, but there are still differences.

If we compare the structure of both subspecies, the North American bear is larger than the brown bear, while it is stronger, but clumsier. The grizzly bear's tail is shorter in length, but its claws are longer, and its height often reaches three meters. Weighing 500 kilograms or more, which is impressive, especially when the grizzly stands on its hind legs and goes on the offensive, the North American bear presents a more formidable picture than the brown representative of the bears. Grizzlies have mastered it well aquatic environment mountain rivers, these predators love water and often hunt by catching turbulent stream is by no means a small prey.

Grizzly bears are less mobile than brown bears, although both predators have mountain ranges, forest thickets and water barriers. There is an opinion that a grizzly bear is more aggressive in behavior than a brown bear, this is not entirely true, rather the opposite - a brown bear is more evil and insidious. And another one important feature: both grizzlies and brown bears are omnivores, but grizzlies rarely attack animals of domestic species and those living in nature, with the exception of fish. The brown bear is almost the same in habits, but he has more complex character When it comes to food, this animal acts harshly; in a hungry state, it will not stand on ceremony: it attacks and eats its prey instantly. Answering the question of what is the difference between the two types of predators, we can safely say - only in terms of the physical structure of the body, the length of the claws and weight, all other habits are approximately the same.

Average weight of a bear various types ranges from 150 kg to one ton.

It is difficult to accuse this dangerous and graceful predator of being overweight: despite not having a model appearance, it is capable of moving at speeds of up to 60 km/h, which is comparable to a horse running at the races! The impressive mass of the bear is also not an obstacle to its acrobatic abilities. The animal easily climbs to a height of up to 30 meters. In order for a person to be at the same height (and this is no less than the ninth floor of a high-rise building) he will need at least professional rock climbing skills and mountaineering equipment. If such data were available, the winner in an athletics competition would obviously not be a human.

Since it is difficult for people to compete with this majestic creature, let’s try to find out which species among bears is the largest, the strongest and endowed with decent intelligence.

How much does a brown bear weigh?

The average weight of a bear of various species ranges from 150 kg to one ton.

The weight of a brown bear depends on the sex of the animal. Females have more modest parameters, their weight ranges from 120 to 150 kg. Representatives of the stronger sex “get better” up to 200-300 kg, although among them there are also males with a more respectable weight of up to 450 kg. For all its heaviness, the brown bear is endowed with a unique quality - it can move through brown and dense bushes absolutely silently. This big beast is quite cautious when it is not hungry and calm,

This is interesting!

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He avoids meeting a person in every possible way, unless he has invaded the territory where he gets food. His “accidental” collisions with people are explained by the fact that the brown bear is nearsighted and cannot distinguish a person at a distance of more than fifty meters. To arouse the animal's curiosity, it is enough to simply move; the animal's hearing is very acute.

The brown bear is not a record holder in the heavy weight category. Its taller and larger brother lives closer to the North Pole.

How much does a polar bear weigh?

A female polar bear weighs 200-300 kg, and a male can reach 350-450 kg.

How much does this giant weigh and can it compete with its Siberian and Far Eastern relatives? The physical characteristics of the animal are truly impressive. Its body length is about three meters. If the animal rises to its full height on its hind legs, then even the tallest basketball player will be below its shoulder. The weight of some individuals reaches half a ton. The average weight is 200-300 kg for females, 350-450 kg for males.

Although the bear is called white, this is not entirely true. The animal's skin is completely black. This is due to the fact that the color of the skin allows one to maintain the necessary thermoregulation of the body, and the color of the coat provides camouflage against the background of polar snows. Animal hair is completely transparent and sunlight easily penetrates the hair and heats the dark skin of the animal.

The polar bear, like its brown counterpart, not only runs well, but also has serious wrestling skills - the paw span of the animal is more than three meters.

The weight of a grizzly bear can exceed 700 kg.

But even such remarkable strength cannot withstand a grizzly bear.

Not only representatives of the animal world avoid meeting with this giant; it also poses a danger to humans - at one time, the beast was known as a cannibal. Its extremely evil disposition, aggressiveness and the presence of sharp, curved claws up to 13 cm long make it a killer machine. This situation arose due to the fault of man; animals began to be exterminated at the beginning of the twentieth century, as cases of attacks on livestock were observed. Today, the grizzly bear population is negligible and protected.

To find out how much a grizzly bear weighs, you will need to put at least three brown bears on one scale. It may turn out that the advantage will not be in their favor; there is documentary information about when a specimen weighing 726 kg was shot. If such a “guest” decides to pay a visit to a person, he will easily look into the windows of a two-story house if he rises on his hind legs; his height reaches three meters or more. Grizzlies are excellent swimmers, and the myth about slowness and clubfoot gait is based on the fact that when walking, the bear simultaneously steps on two paws located on one side of the body.

People have always been in awe of the greatness and strength of this powerful beast, on coats of arms and heraldic symbols different countries you can see an image of a bear. Interest in studying the habits and lifestyle of an animal is still relevant in our time. Scientists and researchers install sensors and cameras to track the number and habitat of individuals. The devices transmit information about how much the bear weighs and the number of babies born. Difficult and important matter The task of preserving these graceful and majestic animals is only within the power of man.