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Making America's Best Idea Even Better
Grand Teton National Park & John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial ParkwayBlack Bear with mountain ash berries, photo by Rebecca Wiles
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Grand Teton National Park & John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway
Black Bear or Grizzly Bear?

WHAT KIND OF BEAR DID YOU SEE? Both grizzly bears and black bears live in the park and parkway. Color is misleading – both species can vary from blonde-black.

 
Black Bear Illustration

BLACK BEAR Ursus americanus

  • No distinctive shoulder hump
  • Face profile is straight from nose to tip of ears
  • Ears are tall and pointed
  • Front claws are short and curved (1"-2" long)

Learn more: Wikipedia>American Black Bear

 
Grizzly bear illustration

GRIZZLY BEAR Ursus arctos horribilis

  • Distinctive shoulder hump
  • Face profile appears dished in
  • Ears are short and rounded
  • Front claws are long and less curved (2"-4" long)

Learn more: Wikipedia>Grizzly Bear

 
 

2008 WILDLIFE BRIEFS
2008 Human-bear Conflicts
2008 Bear Research
2008 Grizzly Bear Status
2008 Wildlife Brigade

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Never approach a bear.
Never feed a bear.
Stay 300 feet (1 football field) from bears at all times.
Tetons from the north, photo by Erin Himmel  

Did You Know?
Did you know that a large fault lies at the base of the Teton Range? Every few thousand years earthquakes up to a magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter Scale signal movement on the Teton fault, lifting the mountains skyward and hinging the valley floor downward.

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Last Updated: July 13, 2009 at 11:41 EST