Barren Ground Grizzly Bear Hunting

Barren Ground Grizzly Bear

(Ursus arctos richardsoni)

Current SCI all time record: Score 25 4/16 - N.W.T., Arctic Ocean - 4/94

Description: Grizzly bears vary considerably in size depending on the area they inhabit. In the Northwest Territories they are generally smaller than those elsewhere. In the Mackenzie Mountains, where winters are long and cold and the forage is sparse, the heaviest male recorded in a 5-year study weighed only 214 kg. Females are smaller than males and do not continue to gain weight with age as males do.

Grizzly bears are larger than black bears and more heavily built. They are usually recognizable in profile by the shape of the snout, which is long and upturned rather than convex like that of a black bear. Another distinguishing feature is the prominent hump of muscle on the shoulders.

Grizzlies have long shaggy coats with coarse guard hairs overlying a dense mat of underfur. Around the shoulders the hair lengthens to form a ruff. Colour varies from light gold to almost black, with pale bears being the most common on the barren-lands.

Other Common Names: Grizzly Bear, Brown Bear

Size:

Range: Northwest Territories; primarily April-May.

Natural History: Of the two subspecies of grizzly bear in North America, only one is found in the Northwest Territories. The other subspecies (U. a. middendorffi) is the coastal brown bear, or Kodiak bear, found on the islands and south coast of Alaska.

In the Northwest Territories, grizzlies are further divided into four distinct populations, based on the ecosystems they inhabit. Arctic coastal grizzlies occupy the area between Inuvik and Coppermine, and are particularly abundant on Richards Island west of the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula. Arctic mountain grizzlies are found primarily in the northern Yukon from the Alaska border to the Richardson Mountains, which overlap the north-western part of the Northwest Territories. The northern interior population ranges throughout northern British Columbia, most of the Yukon, and extends into the southern Mackenzie District. The fourth classification is the barren-ground grizzly, which occurs over the northern and eastern Mackenzie District, and the central portion of the Keewatin District.

On all parts of their range, grizzlies prefer open or semi-forested areas. They are most common in alpine and subalpine terrain, or on the tundra, but sightings in the boreal forest are not unusual.

Grizzly bears are omnivorous. In spring they graze first on roots and then switch to new grasses and sedges as they emerge. Bears in mountainous areas move up and down slopes in response to available vegetation. On the barrens they move to areas of early snow melt in the spring to feed on new growth. During late summer and fall they feed primarily on berries.

They also eat a great many lemmings and ground squirrels, which they excavate from burrows. With respect to large animals, bears are opportunistic predators and will kill caribou, moose, muskoxen and sheep if the occasion arises.

A full-grown healthy animal is usually a good match for a grizzly and it is generally the very young, very old, or sick and wounded animals which become victims. However, instances of grizzlies killing healthy full-grown animals are known.

Grizzlies are also carrion eaters and the carcasses of winter-killed animals probably provide an important diet item in spring before vegetation is available.

Another favorite food of grizzly bears is garbage. In southern parks, grizzlies are well-known for congregating at dumps. This has not been a problem in the Northwest Territories, though as many as six grizzlies have been seen at the dump in Tungsten. Grizzlies also appear occasionally at fishing camps and remote industrial sites, where they are sometimes shot in defense of life or property.

Hunting Characteristics: