Californian grizzly
Californian grizzly in LOST ZOO
The grizzlies have the longest fur hairs on the throat and the flanks. The belly is sparsely haired lacking the thick underfur of the back and the flanks.
The grizzly bear’s fur is typically brown with darker legs and grey or golden tipped hairs on the flank and back.
Grizzly bears have a pronounced hump on their shoulder and their rump is lower than their shoulders. This is a good way to distinguish the grizzly from a North American black bear.
Characteristic for the grizzly is the concave profile of their face with short, rounded ears.
The Eurasian brown bear (Ursus arctos) migrated via the Behring Street to Alaska and later further southwards. Since about 11.000 years the North American brown bear or grizzly inhabited almost all the semi-open landscapes from Alaska to Mexico. Its name “grizzly” refers to the golden and grey tips of the hairs.
Because of its wide distribution 9 genetically closely related subspecies or populations are registered. Today two of these subspecies are extinct. The Californian grizzly became extinct in 1924 and the most southern population, the Mexican grizzly, 1964.
Height: The Californian grizzly is the largest grizzly subspecies with a height up to 245 cm, whereas the Mexican grizzly is the smallest grizzly bear with a height of 183 cm.
Body weight: 1000 kg (male Californian grizzly) and 318 kg for the Mexican grizzly.
Habitat: Temperate semi-open grasslands and mountainous forests.
Extinction:Because the bears killed sometimes livestock, the farmers regarded them as a pest for their cattle and trapped, shot and poisoned the bear. Therefore the Californian grizzly became extinct in 1924 and the Mexican grizzly in 1964.
