Big Sky Country is home to the Threatened (recently downgraded from Endangered) grizzly bear (
Ursus arctos horribilis) and to black bears.
Grizzly bears are so named because of the "grizzled" appearance that the coats of many members of this species exhibit. Grizzly bears are a sub-species of brown bear (
Ursus arctos). Grizzly bears once ranged in western North America from Alaska to Mexico but are now only found in in Alaska, Canada, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.
Grizzly bears are omnivorous and make use of a wide variety of food sources from winterkill carcasses, elk calves, bison calves, the occasional adult bison or elk, rodents, whitebark pine nuts, cutworm Army moths, fish, grass, roots, berries, etc.
Grizzly bears range in color from blonde to black, but medium brown to dark brown is most common. As mentioned before, many individuals have coats that exhibit the "grizzled" or silver-tipped appearance from which the species name comes. The most diagnostic feature of a grizzly bear is a shoulder hump. Other features by which they can be identified are overall body shape, proportionally shorter ears than a black bear, and a "dish-shaped" face.
All photos in this gallery depict wild & free grizzly bears.
If you want to see an individual photo larger, click on the thumbnail for that photo. While viewing the photo, mousing over the left edge of the photo will present additional options. To see a photo even larger, and with "the lights dimmed," click on it again. While the "lights are dimmed," you can advance to the next photo by using the page advance button on the far right side of the screen or go back to a previous photo by using the page back button on the far left. To exit the "dimmed lights" mode, click the gray X in the upper right corner.
All of the photos displayed in this gallery are available for purchase. Prints (framed & unframed), stretched canvas, fotoflots, wall clings, and greeting cards are available. Print orders are fulfilled by Zenfolio/Mpix. If you don't see the size, aspect ratio, or print medium you desire, please
contact me for a custom quote to be fulfilled by me directly.
To purchase a single photo, click the Buy button (shopping cart icon) in the upper right while viewing that photo. You can also select multiple photos for purchase by clicking the Select option on image thumbnails. Then, select your preferred options to configure your purchase (including size and frame options for prints).
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