Grizzly Bear

 

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

 

Regulator because a grizzly bear is a warm-blooded animal that can use energy to control its internal conditions.

 

Dormancy because grizzly bears hibernate for 2-4 months a year starting in the late summer and early fall; during this time, female bears give birth to their offspring while other bears intensify their calorie intake to put on weight for winter denning. Generalist because it is able to eat a variety of food supplies including plants, nuts, berries, and meat. Furthermore, bears have a variety of habitats ranging from western Canada, Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and a potentially small population in Washington.

 

Consumer because the grizzly bear cannot make its own food as a heterotroph and must get its food from other organisms like plants or meat.

 

Omnivore because the diet of grizzly bears can vary widely. They may eat seeds, berries, roots, grasses, fungi, deer, elk, fish, dead animals and insects.

 

Niche: Grizzly bears are an “umbrella species,” meaning that when humans protect them and their habitat we also protect many species. Grizzly bears can also help ecosystems by distributing seeds and nutrients through their scat, and occasionally regulating ungulate populations. They are essential for distributing berry-producing plants through their scat and also till the soil with their claws, promoting new vegetation growth. The grizzly bear is at the top of the food chain because it is an omnivore and can eat both other animals and plants. Grizzly bears live in many different habitats from dense forests to subalpine meadows, open plains and arctic tundra.