BASIC FACTS ABOUT GRIZZLY BEARS

Grizzly bears are majestic symbols of the wild. Bears live in and use a variety of habitat types, playing important roles in each one. This makes them an “umbrella species,” meaning that when we protect them and their habitat we also protect many species. Grizzly bears can also help ecosystems by distributing seeds and nutrients through their scat, and occasionally regulating ungulate populations.

Grizzly Bears

© Harry Bosen

Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) have concave faces, a distinctive hump on their shoulders, and long claws about two to four inches long. Both the hump and the claws are traits associated with a grizzly bear’s exceptional digging ability. Grizzlies are often dark brown, but can vary from very light cream to black. The long guard hairs on their backs and shoulders frequently have white tips and give the bears a "grizzled" appearance, hence the name "grizzly." The correct scientific name for the species is “brown bear,” but only coastal bears in Alaska and Canada are referred to as such, while inland bears and those found in the lower 48 states are called grizzly bears.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT KOALAS

Koala

Phascolarctos cinereus

KOALA

When early European settlers first encountered koalas in Australia, they thought the tree-climbing animals were bears or monkeys. Even today people still incorrectly refer to koalas as “koala bears.” But koalas are actually marsupials, closer related to wombats and kangaroos.

As marsupials, female koalas have pouches where their young stay until fully developed. Unlike kangaroo pouches, which open towards the top, koala pouches are located towards the bottom of their bodies and open outward. The baby koala, or joey, won’t fall out of the pouch because the mother koala uses a strong sphincter muscle to keep the pouch closed.