There are currently about 60,000 wild grizzly bears located throughout North America. However, it is expected that its repopulation of its former range will be a slow process, due equally to the ramifications of reintroducing such a large animal to areas which are prized for agriculture and livestock and also to the bear's slow reproductive habits (bears invest a good deal of time in raising young). The grizzly currently enjoys legal protection in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and European countries. from the " Missoulian" website] Its original range also included much of the Great Plains and the southwestern states, but it has been extirpated in most of those areas. In September 2007 a hunter produced evidence of grizzly reinhabitation in the Selway-Bitterroot ecosystem by killing a male grizzly. There still remains a small population in southern Colorado in the southern San Juan Mountains. The current range of the grizzly bear extends from Alaska, south through much of western Canada, and into portions of the northwestern United States including Idaho, Montana, Washington and Wyoming, extending as far south as Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, but is most commonly found in Canada. ] They are similar in size, color and behavior to the Siberian Brown Bear "(Ursus arctos collaris)".
This size difference is due to the lesser availability of food in the grizzlies landlocked habitats.
cite book | author= | title= Hutchinson's animals of all countries the living animals of the world in picture and story Vol.I| year=1923 | pages= pp.384 | id= ] Compared to other North American brown bear subspecies, a grizzly's pelt is silver tipped and is smaller in size. Grizzlies can be distinguished from most other brown bear subspecies by their proportionately longer claws and cranial profile which resembles that of the polar bear. However, they are slower running downhill rather than uphill because of the large hump of muscle over the shoulders. In spite of their massive size, these bears can run at speeds of up to 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour). The head is large and round with a concave facial profile. The muscles in the lower legs provide enough strength for the bear to stand up and even walk short distances on its hind legs, giving it a better view of its surroundings. The hind legs are more powerful, however. The grizzly has a large hump over the shoulders, which is a muscle mass used to power the forelimbs in digging. Their coloring ranges widely across geographic areas, from blond to deep brown or red. cite book | author = Brown, Gary | title = Great Bear Almanac | year = 1996 | pages = pp.340 | id = ISBN 1558214747] This sexual dimorphism suggests that size is an important factor in the male's ability to successfully compete for and attract breeding opportunities. Male grizzly bears can reach and stand 2.44 meters (8 ft) tall on their hind legs the females are on average 38% smaller. A sow is very protective of her offspring and will attack if she thinks she is being threatened.
Every other year, females ("sows") produce one to four young (most commonly two) which are small and weigh only about 500 grams (one pound). Grizzlies are normally a solitary active animal, but in coastal areas the grizzly congregates alongside streams, lakes, and rivers during the salmon spawn. Range_map_caption = Current range of "Ursus arctos horribilis" in purple, historic range in pink."'The Grizzly Bear "(Ursus arctos horribilis)", also known as the Silvertip Bear, is a subspecies of brown bear "(Ursus arctos)" that lives in the uplands of western North America.