Grizzly Bears
Bears live in all parts of North America, so Lewis and Clark were not surprised to see bears on their journey west.  However, there are several different kinds of bears, and the men were not prepared for the grizzly bear.  Grizzlies are found mainly in mountains today, but then many roamed the grasslands of the Great Plains.

Later, another man in the party, Joseph Whitehouse, wrote about an encounter with a grizzly.  The bear "took after them and chased two men into a canoe."  The men "shoved off in the river and fired at him."  It took nine bullets to stop the huge animal.  Whitehouse reported that the grizzly's feet were nine inches across the ball, and had claws seven inches long.

After several encounters, the men of the Corps of Discovery were happy to let grizzly bears alone.

An adult male grizzly is six or eight feet long, and can stand much higher.  Males weigh 400 to 500 pounds, and females weigh 350 to 400 pounds.

Grizzlies eat fish, animals, berries, roots, leaves, and grass.  They particularly like to catch and eat salmon.   (The bear fishing in the picture below is not a grizzly.)

Indians had warned the white men about the grizzly's great strength and fierce behavior.  However, Lewis did not take the warnings seriously.  One day Lewis and a soldier came upon a young grizzly.  They shot it repeatedly as it chased them.  Finally it died, and Lewis wrote that he was amazed at the number of wounds that it took to kill it.

The name "grizzly" comes from white or silver-tipped outer hairs that give their coat a grayish look.   (Grizzled means sprinkled with gray.)  Their dense under fur can be any color from light tan to black.  Sometimes grizzlies are called "silvertips."

The grizzly belongs to a group of bears called big brown bears. All big brown bears have a hump on their shoulders.  The hump can be seen in most of the pictures on this page.