The grizzly bear Ursus arctos horribilis , also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly , is a large population or subspecies [1] of the brown bear inhabiting North America. Multiple morphological forms sometimes recognized as subspecies exist, including the mainland grizzly Ursus arctos horribilis , Kodiak bear U. The Ussuri brown bear U. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark first described it as grisley , which could be interpreted as either " grizzly " i. Classification has been revised along genetic lines. Brown bears originated in Eurasia and traveled to North America approximately 50, years ago, [11] [12] spreading into the contiguous United States about 13, years ago. In the 19th century, the grizzly was classified as 86 distinct species. However, by only seven grizzly species remained, [3] and by only one species remained globally. Rausch found that North America has but one species of grizzly. In Rausch reduced the number of North American subspecies to one, Ursus arctos middendorffi.


Grizzly Bear Location

Grizzly Bear
Grizzly bears were once numerous, ranging across North America from California to the Great Plains, and from Mexico all the way up into Alaska. As with many species, westward expansion, human transformation of the landscape, and fear led to near-eradication of grizzly bears in the continental United States. When the grizzly bear was listed under the Endangered Species Act ESA in , the grizzly bear population in the lower 48 states was down to less than bears. Recognizing that human-bear conflicts were a leading cause of human-related grizzly bear deaths, Defenders initiated our grizzly bear conflict mitigation, or coexistence, program in the late s. Defenders works directly with local residents and communities, non-profit organizations, and government agencies on a wide variety of conflict prevention projects, largely on private lands.
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The Grizzly bear is a type of brown bear that was once plentiful in the western and northwestern United States. The animal is also known as the North American Brown Bear. The name "grizzly" comes from the light tips on the bear's fur, which gives it a grizzled or silvery appearance. The grizzly bear is a subspecies of the brown bear known as Ursus Arctos. Ursus Arctos Horribilis is the scientific name for the grizzly bear. Ursus is Latin for bear , and Arctos comes from Arktos, which is Greek for the word bear. Horriblilis is a Latin term that means horrible. Grizzly bears may be very light brown or dark brown. Grizzlies have large heads, dish-shaped faces, short round ears, and short tails.
The grizzly bear is a kind of brown bear. However, most of these bears are now considered the same subspecies. In North America there are two subspecies of brown bear Ursus arctos : the Kodiak bear, which occurs only on the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago, and the grizzly bear, which occurs everywhere else. Brown bears also occur in Russia, Europe, Scandinavia, and Asia. Grizzly bears are large and range in color from very light tan almost white to dark brown. They have a dished face, short, rounded ears, and a large shoulder hump. They have very long claws on their front feet that also give them extra ability to dig after food and to dig their dens.