Bear Species and Subspecies

[brotherbear]

http://shaggygod.proboards.com/thread/665/natgeowild-video-compilation 

EXPEDITION KODIAK

Grizzly Bears on Kodiak Island, Alaska

* For the last 10 thousand years, since the end of the last ice age, Kodiak Island has been isolated from the mainland by the 40-kilometre wide Shelikof Strait.
* The brown bears on Kodiak Island evolved into their own unique subspecies.
* Kodiak brown bears are the biggest bears on earth.
* Kodiak Island is home to nearly thirty-five hundred bears.
* Kodiak Island has the densest concentration of brown bears anywhere in the world, with just under one bear for every 2.6 square kilometres.
* Bears in Yellowstone National Park can stand about 100 centimetres at the shoulder when on all fours and weigh about 275 kilograms.
* Coastal brown bears can stand 112 centimetres tall at the shoulder when on all fours and weigh 410 kilograms or more.
* A Kodiak bear can stand more than 140 centimetres tall at the shoulder when on all fours and weigh more than 630 kilos.

Salmon

* Salmon are important to both the human economy and the natural ecosystem of Kodiak Island.
* There are the five different species of salmon that feed Kodiak island, Pinks, Chum, Sockeye, Coho, Chinook.
* Each summer, thousands of migrating salmon in southwest Alaska pour from Naknek Lake into the Brooks River – en route to Brooks Lake a mile away.
* At the midpoint from Naknek Lake to Brooks Lake is Brooks Falls, a barrier for salmon.
* In July, southwest Alaska hosts the largest run of sockeye salmon in the world.
* A spawner count predicts the number of future offspring. This count is used to set fishing quotas that ensure a healthy population returns to spawn year after year.
* Salmon travel upstream guided by the earth’s magnetic field and the scent of their native waters.
* In Alaska, Salmon must often pass through dense bear habitat in order to arrive at their birthplace.
* Salmon have evolved into a species of nearly pure muscle capable of jumping up to three and a half metres.
* A fish ladder is a man-made structure that allows salmon to successfully ascend man-made obstacles.
* As the salmon make their brutal journey up the river, they get all beat up and they end up with all white marks all over them. And that’s what the bears look for just like a strobe light on top of their head. As they go by, they lock in on the white spots and go after them.


GRIZZLY ENCOUNTERS 
Brutus the Grizzly Bear



* Brutus was born in a wildlife park in Idaho.

* Brutus weighs more than 400 kilograms.

* Standing up, Brutus is almost 2.5 metres.

* At just a few months old, there was no room left for Brutus in his home, so he was adopted by Casey Anderson.

* Like a wild bear hibernating for winter, Brutus dens in a dark, warm interior space, but has easy access to the outdoors. 



Sheena



* For eighteen years, Sheena lived in a cage. She never got out of it. She never ran. She never swam. She never dug in the ground.

* Sheena’s muscles were very atrophied, in fact, she had some sores on her rear end because all she could do was sit around in this cage and stare out every day.

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture contacted Montana Grizzly Encounter to give Sheena a good home. 



Jake and Maggie



* Jake and Maggie are very different even though they are the same age.

* Maggie is very playful but a little bit more of a wallflower, a little more reserved.

* Jake is super social and very laid back.

* Jake and Maggie were initially rescued by the Wildlife Safari, near Roseburg, Oregon, but the bear exhibit was at maximum capacity.

* Jake weighs about 160 kilograms.

* Just like many of the coastal brown bears in Alaska, Jake and Maggie have a similar “long” facial profile, which contrasts with the pronounced “dish-shaped” facial profile that is often seen in Yellowstone and elsewhere in the forty-eight states. 



Jake and Sheena playing. As noted, both Jake and Maggie are adopted Russian bears. The younger Jake sports two large paws - Anderson notes they are notably larger than Brutus's (now nine years old) at the same age.






Food and Play 
 
* Brutus eats approximately sixteen kilos of food a day, and he has to because he’s still growing.

* Hiding food treats throughout the enclosure keeps the bears mentally healthy by stimulating their natural foraging instincts, which is very important in their development.

* Bears have a sweet tooth just like humans do, so it is important to check their teeth regularly because one of their biggest problems is cavities that turn into abscesses.
* In the wild, cubs that play more have a greater chance of survival.
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