Get off the tracks when the train’s coming.
If there’s one animal in America that captures simultaneous pure fear and amazement better than any other, it has to be the grizzly bear.
For starters, the name alone is fantastic, but when you start to learn about this beast it gets even more incredible.
Grizzlies are found in the western part of the lower 48, Canada, and Alaska. They can live in a number of terrains, from arctic tundra to high mountain forests to coastal regions, and feed on an impressive range of foods which include fish, rodents, berries, grasses, and of course, deer, moose, and elk.
Of course, they don’t pass up the opportunity to snack on any creature that happens to be in their proximity, as these kids found out the hard way during a trip to the zoo.
While all of that goes a long way in creating the reverence of the grizzly, their size has to be discussed. They’re the largest bear in the US, with males averaging 400 to 600 pounds and females averaging 250 to 350, but if conditions are right and resources are plenty, they can top the scales at over 1,300 pounds.
Oh yeah, did I mention they can also run 35 miles per hour?
For an animal to be as prolific of a hunter as a grizzly bear, they also need to have the right disposition. Black bears are prevalent in most states, and while they can get quite big themselves, in general these guys don’t like confrontation and will choose “flight” over “fight” more often then not.
But grizzlies? I’m not even sure they have the “flight” option programmed in their genes…
While we’ve seen plenty of videos showing the hunting prowess of grizzlies, one from Alberta, Canada hit the internet recently and shows both the aggression, power, and athleticism of a mama grizzly bear in full glory.
A man was driving down a rural road in Alberta when he spotted a mama grizzly and three cubs ahead on the road. Naturally, he started filming and when he got close, the mama bear sensed danger and charged at his truck.
“I was driving to help a rancher friend near the community where I grew up in southern Alberta, Canada. We have a second home here, and I was spending some time helping friends and working on our ranch. I drove to my friend’s ranch, and on the way, I saw these bears, running down the middle of the road.
I grabbed my phone and began recording and when they left the road I pulled over and the sow grizzly bear turned around and charged my truck!”
I want you to notice how effortlessly she dives between the barbed wire fence, I mean how is something that mad and that large able to so gracefully leap through a gap no more than a few feet wide?
I knew it before but I know it again now. Do I want to see a grizzly in the wild? You betcha. But I’m going to be bringing some binoculars to stay as far away as possible.
