The grizzly bear

The grizzly bear lives in the uplands of western North America.   Grizlies are normaily solitary active animals ,  but in coastal areas the grizzly bears congregate alongside streams, lakes, and river during the salmon spawn   .   Every   other   year,   the   females (sows) produce one to four young (most commonly two) which are small and weigh only about  500 grams (one pound) . A sow is very protective  of her offsprings and will attack if she is being threatened.

Male   grizzly   bears   can   range   from weights of 180 to 680 kilograms (400 - 1,500 pounds) and stand  2,44 meters (8   ft) tall on their hind legs; the females are smaller. Their coloring ranges widely across geographic areas, from blond to deep brown or red. These differences, primarily due to the dif- ferent environments, particularly, witch re- gard to diet and temperature.

The grizzly has a large hump over the shoulders which is a muscle mass used to poser the forelimbs in diging. The hind legs are more powerful, howefer. The muscle in the lower legs provide enough strength for the bear  to stand up on its hind legs, giving it a better view of its surroundings. The head is large and round with a concave facial profile.

In spite of their massive size, these bears can run at speeds of up to 40 kilometers per hour (25  miles per hour). However,  they are slower running downhill rather than uphill because of  the large hump of  muscle over the  shoulders.

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