Black Bear Facts (Ursus americanus)

Size: 1.2-1.9 m (3.7-6.0 ft)

Weight: 90-25 kg (200-600 lbs)

Description: Black, brown or cinnamon; - rarely- grayish-blue or ivory-white. Appears higher at the hind end than the front. Has large round ears and a long nose.

Reproduction: First breeds at three to five years of age. Has from one to four cubs every two or more years.

Life Span: 20 years in wild; some individuals have lived more than 30 years.

Food: Plants, insects, and occasionally fish and meat.

Distribution: Forested parts of North America, but extirpated from parts of the central and eastern U.S. Currently exist in 75% of their former range, and are not listed as threatened.

Grizzy Facts (Ursus arctos horribbilis)

Size: 1.8-2.5 m (5.5-7.5 ft)

Weight: 130-400 kg (280-900 lbs). Kodiaks grow larger.

Description: Brown, ranging from almost blonde to almost black, often with a grizzled appearance on the back, shoulders and head. Pronounced hump at front shoulders, long claws on forefeet, and a dish-shaped face with small ears.

Reproduction: First breeds at five to seven years and has one to three cubs every three or more years.

Life Span: 25 years

Food: Plants, insects, fish and meat.

Distribution: Northern U.S. Rockies, extreme western Alberta, most of B.C., and Alaska east to Hudson Bay. Grizzly habitat has shrunk considerably. Fewer than 1,100 grizzlies exist today in the contiguous 48 states, in areas representing less than 2% of their former range. In 1975 the grizzly was listed as threatened in the U.S. and received protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.