Being
an omnivore, a grizzly bear will eat anything--insects,
wild honey, grasses, sedges, roots, mountain sorrel, buffalo
berries, fish, moose, elk, deer, sheep, and sometimes
other bears!
The
breeding season usually occurs in June and July, when
the bears reach maturity around five years of age. The
male chooses his mate and spends about a month with her,
then leaves to continue his solitary life. The female
then finds or digs her den, where she will sleep through
the winter. She'll give birth to her cubs in January,
February or March. (Gestation takes four or five months).
Average litter size is two, but four is not uncommon.
Weighing less than a pound, a newborn cub gains weight
quickly from the rich mother's milk containing 33 percent
fat. As they grow up, the cubs may increase their weight
as much as 1,000 times. A deep bond unites a mother with
her cubs, and she fiercely protects them from adult males
and other predators, until they are two years old.
In
Yellowstone National Park, the grizzlies number around
200. Montana is home to a real grizzly stronghold of approximately
600 bears. The actual total of grizzlies left in the wild
is unknown. But the consensus is that fewer than 1,000
are left in the lower 48 states, while in Alaska and Canada
there may be more than 35,000, with most of them roaming
the far northern regions. Considered a threatened species
in the United States, Canada does not consider this animal
in peril.