Grizzly Bears

Grizzlies usually enjoy solitude, but will gather in numbers during a healthy salmon run. Their coat can range from blonde to brown to dark red. Females grizzlies have one to four young every other year, and the sow is very protective of her offspring. Males are bigger than the females and can stand at a towering 8ft on their hind legs. The distinctive large hump on the back is a dominant muscle mass used to power the front limbs for digging. The muscles also help the grizzly to run up to speeds of 25 miles per hour.

The greatest risk to the grizzly bear population is loss of quality habitat. Waterton Park does not have a large enough range to sustain even one entire grizzly. Most male grizzlies require 800 sq km, and a female with cubs would use about half of that. With the large population of other wildlife throughout the Park, grizzlies usually feed throughout park and then onto other regions to sustain their appetite.