The Grizzly Bear

Linnaean classification: Eukarya, Animalia, Chordata, Mammalia, Carnivora, Ursidae, Ursus, Ursus arctos

Regulator: Grizzly Bears are Regulators because as mammals, they are warm-blooded organisms with the ability to regulate and maintain a relatively stable and constant internal environment and temperature (homeostasis), even with the variability of external environments.

Dormancy: During the winter time, Grizzly Bears go into a period of dormancy for 4-7 months. They are particularly well known for their ability to sleep through long winters, as they sleep without daily activities like eating and their body temperature drops to only about 12 °F.

Generalist: Grizzly Bears are generalists, as they have the capacity to live in a wide variety of environments/biomes, and have the adaptations to survive in these varying habitats. They are found in subalpine meadows, to open plains, to arctic tundra.

Consumer: It is a consumer, as it cannot produce it’s own food but must consume other organisms to get the nutrients and energy its needs.

Omnivore: Grizzly Bears are omnivores, since they eat both plants and other animals/meat; their diet includes plants like seeds, berries, and roots, as well as meats like deer, elk, and fish.

Niche: Grizzly Bears can be found  in a variety of habitats across North America, Asia, and Europe. In North America, they are found from the mountainous land of the Rockies to the Northern states of Wyoming and Montana, to western Canada and Alaska. They are found in multiple of environments (subalpine meadows, open plains, and arctic tundra) and mainly consume plants like roots, grasses, seeds, berries, and meat like deer, elk, fish, dead animals, and insects. They also consume some fungi. They may play a role in dispersing the seeds they consume through excretion. Grizzly Bears tend to build dens in protective spaces like caves and burrows. The adult grizzly bear has no natural predators.