There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
01-24-2016, 05:00 PM( This post was last modified: 01-24-2016, 05:02 PM by brotherbear )
California Grizzly by Tracy I. Storer and Lloyd Tevis, Jr.
The feet of bears are large because the animals are plantigrade, the palm or sole as well as the toes being provided with durable pads that regularly make contact with the ground ( fig. 7 ). In this respect they differ from the speedier dogs, cats, and other lithe carnivores that habitually run on their toes. The forefoot of grizzlies - and that of black bears - has a large pad on the palm that is wider than long and somewhat rectangular. Each of the five toes has a small oval pad. The hind foot of the California grizzly was a huge structure in fully adult males. For example, that of the big individual which served as the type of Ursus magister ( USNM 160155 ) measured 12 inches in length without the claws, and 8 inches in greatest breadth. The sole pad is crudely triangular, with the base foremost against the pads of the five toes. All the pads are surfaced with tough, cornified epidermis over a substantial mass of resistant connective tissue. This covering of the foot is the sturdy, self-renewing "shoe."
The front claws of grizzlies, as compared with those of black bears, are heavier, longer, broader, and only slightly curved. They serve the grizzlies in their extensive digging operations for bulbs, roots, and rodents and in fighting. Many human beings were deeply gashed by these great hooks that are powered by heavy arm and shoulder muscles. The length and size of the claws vary with age, and possibly bears of different regions had some differences in relative proportions and dimensions of these members. The activities of the animals also affected the claws. According to X'antus, grizzlies near Fort Tejon had claws much worn from digging. Of the grizzlies in the Rockies, Mills ( 1919 : 91 ) wrote that when the animals entered hibernation the claws were worn, blunt, and broken, but when they emerged from the winter rest period the claws were long and moderately pointed. Replacement growth would not have been conspicuous in lowland California grizzlies that did not hibernate.
Bear Interactions with Other Predators
