crocodile8: I don't really have a question about a grizzly, but I have always wondered about their cousin the Kodiak bear. If it's possible, could you state the approximate raw power of the Kodiak's forearms and also their bite force? Thanks!
Peter Gros: The exact amount of the striking power of their forearms is not precisely known. However, one close look at the large lump behind the shoulders, which is pure muscle, makes it one of the most powerful, striking bears in the world. I believe they would be the second most powerful to a polar bear, since Kodiak bears can grow 10 feet long and weigh over 1,000 pounds.

horakhti73: How intelligent are grizzlies?
Grizzly bears are very intelligent. Imagine being able to move with ease within a home range of hundreds of miles and a wide variety of habitat. They're able to travel from alpine food sources, to estuaries, to berry patches, to salmon spawning sites, visiting each site exactly when that particular food source is available to them. I have often heard grizzly bears disguised as an amazingly sensitive nose attached to a huge stomach. I think they're very intelligent and I respect them in their position at the top of the food chain.

horakhti73: In your opinion, should grizzlies be allowed to repopulate areas where they've been exterminated?
Yes, I believe they should. Other than being one of nature's most magnificent animals, they play an important role in the web of nature. Grizzlies are the main animal earth movers in the high country and across many of the lower meadows and floodplains, where their claws recontour the ground. They plant seeds and release scarce nitrogen from lower soil levels. Vegetation such as glacier lillies grow better and produce more seeds in swath dug by bears, which can also eat and spread seeds from as many as 70,000 berries a day. You can view grizzlies as nature's gardeners and ecosystem accelerators. We still have a lot of work to do in terms of educating people about how to survive with wildlife, and the grizzly bear is one of those species which I believe we can manage with success.

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