Grizzly size weight. The biggest bears. Siberian brown bear

North american grizzly very similar to the brown bears that live in the forests of Russia, these two subspecies of predators are among the most intelligent and strong representatives animal world of the planet. 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; nevertheless, they are included in 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 clumsy. The grizzly's tail is shorter in length, but its claws are longer, and growth often reaches three meters. With a weight of 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 well mastered aquatic environment mountain rivers, these predators love water and often hunt, catching prey that is by no means small in size in a turbulent stream.

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

The bear is one of the animals that you hardly want to meet one on one. Its dimensions inspire genuine fear. Surprisingly, at birth, some bears weigh less than 200 grams, and here the question of how much an adult bear weighs involuntarily arises. It all depends on its type and individual characteristics. The most famous are bears: brown, black, white. Since the brown bear lives in our country, we will dwell on it in more detail.

Distribution area

Previously, the brown bear was found almost throughout Europe, including Ireland and England. southern border The range was the African Atlas Mountains, and in the east, bears were found even on the territory of modern Japan. It most likely came to the territory of North America after about 40 thousand years ago. Then he settled in the territories from Alaska to the northern borders of Mexico. To date, the brown bear is widely distributed in Finland (in this country it was even declared a national animal) and Scandinavia, it is less common in the center of Europe and the Carpathians. In addition, it also lives in the Iranian and Iraqi forests, northern China, Palestine, the Korean Peninsula and Japanese island Hokkaido. IN North America the brown bear is called "grizzly", more common in the western part of Canada, in Alaska. In Russia, the brown bear lives in almost all the forests of the country, except for the southern regions.

Appearance

The animal is strong, with a distinct withers on the back. The body cover is thick. Coat color is uniform. As a rule, bears molt in spring, and the fur coat is updated in autumn. the ears are small, the eyes are set deep. The tail is practically invisible under the coat and is only 2 cm long. The paws are quite strong, with curved claws (their length can reach 10 cm).

Weight of a brown bear and its dimensions

The average body length of a brown bear is 1-2 meters. recorded in Kamchatka, the Far East and Alaska. These are real giants: their height in a standing position reaches three meters. In addition to height, many are interested in how much a bear weighs. Body weight depends on the sex and age of the animal. As a rule, the male is larger than the female. The weight of an adult bear (male) is 140-400 kg. But among them there are giant individuals weighing up to 600 kg. The female weighs on average 90-210 kg. A bear with a record body weight was found on Kodiak Island. His weight was 1134 kg, and his height was about 4 meters. Many people wonder how much a person living in Russia weighs? In our country, there are smaller individuals, their average body weight is 100 kg. And how much does a grizzly weigh - a bear living in America? The grizzly is a subspecies of the brown bear, its body weight can reach 500 kg. Individual individuals can weigh 700 kg.

Lifespan

How much does a bear weigh and how long does it live - these are probably the most frequently asked questions. Note that the animal directly depends on its habitat. IN wild nature he can live 20-35 years. If an animal is kept in a zoo or reserve, then it lives twice as long - about 50 years, or even more. Sexual maturity occurs at 6-11 years of age.

Behavior

The brown bear has a highly developed sense of smell. He smells meat well even at a great distance. The bear has excellent hearing. It often stands on its hind legs to catch the direction of scent flows or to listen to the sound that interests it. In the forest, he behaves like a real master: bypasses his possessions early morning or after dusk. In bad weather, it can wander through the forests for hours in search of food.

Lifestyle and nutritional habits

The brown bear is considered a forest animal. In Russia, his favorite places are dense woodlands with bushes and deciduous trees. It can enter the territory of the tundra and alpine forests. In Europe, it lives more often in the mountains, and in North America favorite places habitat - alpine meadows, tundra and coast. The male usually lives alone, and the female with cubs. Each individual takes certain territory from 70 to 400 km, while the male requires 7 times more area than the female. Of course, this does not depend on how much the bear weighs. It's just that the female often lives with cubs, and it is more difficult for her to travel long distances than a single male. Bears mark the boundaries of their territory with urine and scratches on trees.

Animals are omnivores. The diet consists of 75% plant food- these are berries, tubers, grass stems, nuts, roots and acorns. In lean years, they can feed on corn and oat fields. The diet of a clubfoot can consist of ants, worms, small rodents (mice, chipmunks, ground squirrels). Although the bear is not a 100% predator, it can overwhelm an elk or a roe deer. There are frequent cases when a grizzly attacked wolves, and in the territory Far East bears sometimes prey on tigers. The favorite delicacy of this animal is honey (that's why it was called that). The fish is a seasonal object of hunting. At the beginning of spawning, when there are still few fish, the bear eats the entire carcass, but when there is a lot of it, it eats only parts rich in fat (head, milt and caviar). In famine years, the bear can hunt domestic animals and often visit apiaries, ruining them.

The activity of the brown bear falls on the morning and evening hours. Lifestyle is seasonal. By cold weather, the bear builds up a subcutaneous layer of fat and lies in a den for hibernation. Wherein average weight bear increases by 20%. A den is a dry place under windbreaks or uprooted tree roots. On average, winter sleep lasts about 70-190 days and depends on the climate (October-March, November-April). It turns out that the clubfoot is in hibernation for about six months. She-bears are the longest in hibernation, and older males are the least. It is also interesting to know how much a brown bear weighs after winter sleep. During this time, they can lose about 80 kg of mass. If during the summer and autumn the bear did not have time to accumulate a sufficient amount of fat, in the winter he wakes up and begins to wander through the forest in search of food. Such bears are called connecting rods. Rods are dangerous and hungry, so they attack everyone, even humans. Most often, they rarely survive until the end of winter: they die from frost, severe hunger, or from a hunter's bullet.

Despite the fact that the weight of the brown bear is impressive, and he looks somewhat awkward, he runs quite fast, swims well and climbs trees well. The paw strike is so powerful that it can break the back of a large bison or bull.

reproduction

The female brings offspring once every 2-4 years. Heat is passed at the end of spring - the beginning of summer, the duration is only 2-4 weeks. Males during the breeding season often fight among themselves, sometimes with a fatal outcome. occurs with several males, the course of pregnancy is latent, while the development of the embryo will begin only in November. Pregnancy lasts from 6 to 8 months, the birth itself takes place at the place of hibernation - in the lair. In one offspring there are up to 5 cubs. I wonder how much a bear weighs at birth, if it later reaches such sizes? Bear cubs weigh 340-680 grams at birth, their length is 25 cm. They are born completely blind and deaf, hairline is almost absent. Hearing appears only 14 days after birth, and they become sighted in a month. By 3 months they have milk teeth and can eat berries. A mother bear feeds her cubs with milk for up to 30 months. As a rule, the father does not take part in the upbringing of the offspring, on the contrary, he can eat the bear cub, because he sees in him a potential rival. Bear cubs begin to live independently without a mother by about 3-4 years.

Security

The brown bear is listed in the Red Book. This animal is vulnerable due to the high mortality of young animals and slow reproduction. But in Lately the population is growing. According to some data, there are about 200 thousand individuals in the world, 120,000 of which live in Russia, 14,000 in Europe, 32,500 in the USA ( most of in Alaska), 21,500 in Canada. Bear hunting in many countries is limited or completely prohibited.

Reading fiction often come across stories about grizzly bears. The grizzly is vividly described in the books of Fenimore Cooper, Seton-Thompson and Jack London, familiar and beloved in childhood. There he is represented by the owner of the forest.

Grizzly and indeed the biggest predatory beast on the American continent. Its weight reaches 450 kilograms, and its length is 2.5 meters. Claws reach 15 centimeters. Because of their long claws, grizzlies cannot climb trees.

The main habitat of the grizzly is the remote places of Alaska and northern Canada. The grizzly bear is sometimes referred to as a gray bear because of its coloration.
He is credited with bloodthirstiness, although in reality this is not so. For the most part, this bear eats plant foods, but does not shy away from meat and fish.

He attacks a person very rarely and generally tries to stay away from people. Although a wounded and enraged beast is extremely dangerous. Grizzly attacks a person when he is defending his hunting grounds or the female protects the cubs.

Sometimes the Spaniards pitted the bear and the bull. The bear, on the other hand, was limited in its freedom of movement, and then it almost always came out victorious in a fight.

The picture shows a grizzly brown bear for comparison.

Brown bear- the hero of many fairy tales and legends. This is the most common type of bear. Its weight is from 80 to 400 kilograms, body length is 250 cm, height at the withers is from 75 to 160 cm.

Females are smaller than males. Average duration life in the wild for 20-30 years. Females produce offspring every 2-4 years. And the kids live with their mother until they are 3 years old. They live on all continents of Eurasia in forest zones. They are able to climb trees.

For the most part, they eat plant foods and are very fond of honey, but they do not mind eating both fish and roe deer.
In winter, having accumulated fat over the summer, the bears hibernate.

In spring, bears often attack animals, as there is little plant food in the forest in spring. Both wild boar and elk can become its prey. Especially aggressive are bears that have not accumulated fat reserves in summer and therefore do not sleep in winter and walk through the forest for prey. People call them rods.

Very often bears perform in the circus. Bears are one of the most intelligent animals.

The main differences between a grizzly bear and a brown bear are:
Various habitats.
Grizzlies are larger than brown bears.
The color of the coat is different.
The grizzly can't climb trees, but the brown bear is good at climbing.

P.S. Despite some differences, the brown bear and the grizzly are the closest relatives and belong to the same bear family. (lat. Ursidae)

Interestingly, in American literature, the strength, aggressiveness and power of the brown bear, which is slang called "grizzly", is sung in every possible way. In fact, "grizzly" is not separate view bear, but just another, Americanized, name for the most common brown bear - Ursus arctos.

No less curious is the fact that under the name "grizzly" there is a brown bear in the interior of the American continent, which in size does not differ in any way from the bears of the Baikal region, Yakutia and the Yenisei Territory - that is, quite an average brown bear.

But the really large bears that live on the Kenai Peninsula, the Admiralty Islands, as well as the islands of Kodiak, Shuyak and Afognak (and which, without a doubt, are the largest brown bears in the world) in American hunting jargon are called brown bear, that is - "Brown bear". The name "grizzly" is clearly subscribed to the bears of the interior of the country.

And I must say that the difference in these names seems to reflect the difference in the perception of the brown bear by Russians and Western European settlers.

Comparison of the North American grizzly bear and our domestic brown bear is, no doubt, very, very subjective. But the reason for this opposition is not at all in the nature of the bears themselves - it is approximately the same on both continents. The bottom line is how this character was perceived by the people who met this beast.

Who were the pioneers and first settlers of the American continent?

These were respectable Hanoverian burghers and Belfast lumpen, French Huguenots and English Levellers, Dutch merchants and Swiss minorities. In their own countries brown bears have long since receded into the realm of legends and legends, at best remaining in the most remote mountains as an object of aristocratic hunting. And these same people, having arrived in New World immediately met in a huge number of black bear - the American baribal. This very black bear is probably the most harmless and fruit-eating of the entire family of real bears (unlike its Asian cousin, the Himalayan bear).

It was with this bear that the first Americans coexisted until the beginning of the advance to the West. Of course, an angry baribal, especially when wounded and driven up a tree, strove either to tear the face of the unlucky hunter, or even to scalp. But given that the average weight of the Appalachian baribal is 80 kilograms, and the degree of courage of the bear is usually in direct proportion to its size, it is clear that such cases were not regular.

However, at the moment when the settlers set off to the West, they met a completely different beast - a brown bear, which was almost three times the size of a baribal and just as carnivorous. The meeting with this beast made such an impression on the pioneers that this bear almost immediately earned the nickname "the most formidable predator of all times and peoples."

Why, however, does it seem that such a representation has been created in the literature precisely as a result of the contrast between the grizzly and the baribal?

The fact is that in the same historical period, the West coast of the North American continent was mastered by Russian men. Moreover, along with the merciless industrialists, quite enlightened inquisitive officers, and even naturalists, turned out to be there - like the same Nikolai Voznesensky, who collected zoological collections in Alaska and California - in the most bearish places in America (which at that time were not even in the USA). However, none of them even bothered to mention the abundance of bears in these places, let alone speak of them as ferocious and merciless predators!

The reason for this phenomenon is simple and understandable - the Russians had a centuries-old habit of bears, and the American-European pioneers for the most part lost it.