Ursus arctos

Grizzly bears once roamed over most of the western United States from the high plains to the Pacific coast.In the Great Plains, they seem to have favored areas near rivers and streams, where conflict with humans was also likely. These grassland grizzlies also probably spent considerable time searching out and consuming bison that died from drowning, birthing, or winter starvation, and so were undoubtedly affected by the elimination of bison from most of the Great Plains in the late 1800's. They are potential competitors for most foods valued by humans, including domesticated livestock and agricultural crops, and under certain limited conditions are also a potential threat to human safety. For these and other reasons, grizzly bears in the United States were vigorously sought out and killed by European settlers in the 1800's and early 1900's.

Between 1850 and 1920grizzlies were elimated from 95% of their original range,with Extiration occrring eariest on the Great Plains and later in remote mountainous ares. Unregulated killing of grizzlies continued in most places through the 1950's and resulted in a further 52% decline in their range between 1920 and 1970.Grizzlies survived this last period of slaughter only in remote wilderness areas larger than 26,000 km2 .Altogether, grizzly bears were eliminated from 98% of their orginal range in the contiguous Untied States during a 100-year period.

Home Range:Grizzly bears can be found in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories; and the US states of Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, and Montana. In general their home range is between 10 and 380 square miles. A grizzly bear’s home range is basically inland - away from major bodies of water. In most cases, a grizzly bear’s home range includes an area of forested land or shrub cover.