The Cougar Lesson
What sound do you think grizzlies make? Let’s hear it!
Grizzly bears don’t make too much sound when they’re alone, but if they get nervous or agitated, they might huff, pop their jaw, and growl lowly. Sometimes, in more rare circumstances, they’ll roar. Listen below to two grizzlies roaring at each other over a bison carcass.
Where do they fall on the food chain?
Have you heard of a food chain before? A food chain is how energy and nutrients go from one living thing to another in an ecosystem. For example, plants create energy that an herbivore, like a rabbit, might eat and then a carnivore, like a coyote, might eat the rabbit. Energy is transferred from one organism to another throughout this chain.
So where do grizzly bears fall on the food chain?
Cougars are what we call an “apex predator”. This means they are on the top of the food chain with none of its own natural predators. While they may be at the top, they often yield to black bears, grizzly bears, and even gray wolves. When a cougar kills an animal, sometime bears and wolves will come to eat their kill. Cougars will leave their meal to these other predators to avoid conflict.
Grizzly bear myths:
Bears have bad eyesight
Bears are only meat-eaters (carnivores)
Bears cant follow you if you run downhill
How long do Grizzlies live?
Baby grizzly bears are called cubs. When they’re born, they don’t have fur and can’t see for about three days.
While the cub only suckles from its mother for about five months, it will stay with her for up to three years. During this time the mother protects her cub from other predators which might be fellow bears, cougars, and wolves. While with its mother, the cub learns to climb trees, forage, and hunt.
Once cubs are able to survive on their own they are driven away so their mother can breed again. They weigh between 350 to 700 lbs; this is close to the weight they will be fully grown although this fluctuates depending on food abundance.
Female grizzlies are able to have cubs when between the ages of 4 1/2 and 10 years old. They will breed once every three to four years and between May and June. Their gestation period can vary between 180 to 266 days.
While grizzlies can live over 40 years, they live around 15 to 20 years in the wilderness.
So where are they???
Historical and current grizzly bear range
- USGS
There was a time when grizzly bears inhabited much of the North American west. However, their populations were largely reduced with western expansion. Now they exist only in Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Canada.
YOU can help grizzly bears!
Stay up to date on local news about grizzly survival in your area
Talk to your parents, siblings, friends, and neighbors about grizzly survival
Reach out to policy makers about grizzly related legislation and regulation
Keep learning!