Grizzly bear in Denali national park - Alaska

by Olivier Parent

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Grizzly bear in Denali national park - Alaska

Artist

Olivier Parent

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Photograph - Photography

Description

Female grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) eating berries in the red tundra during the very short fall (autumn) season in Denali national park (Alaska - USA).

The grizzly bear is characterized by a distinctive hump on the shoulders. Grizzly bears usually live as lone individuals, except for females accompanied by their cubs. Grizzly bears can be seen in relatively close proximity in areas of abundant food, such as these berry patches. In Denali national park, berries, especially blueberries and soapberries, form the bulk of the diet starting in late July when grizzly bears go into a feeding frenzy called hyperphagia. During this time they eat nearly nonstop. Grizzly bears are omnivorous, eating a mixed diet of grasses, berries, roots, fish and small mammals. They are also predators of caribou and moose and their calves. They will scavenge carrion when available.

Female grizzly bears reach sexual maturity around six years of age. A female can have one to three cubs which will stay with her for up to three and a half years.

Although a single species, grizzlies differ from Alaskan coastal brown bears (sometimes referred to as Kodiak bears) in that they are smaller in size due to a lower diet. Coastal bears benefit from an important supply of fat and protein during the 'salmon run', when salmon, which have migrated from the ocean, swim to the upper reaches of rivers where they spawn on gravel beds.

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September 13th, 2021

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