Grizzly Bear

SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW!

NAME:___________________________________________

LOCATION:______________________________________

Grizzly bears are: A. Carnivores B. Vegetarians C. Vegans D. Omnivores

How do grizzly bears prepare for hibernation? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In which of the states listed below would you be likely to find a grizzly bear? A. Hawaii B. Maine C. Wyoming D. Kentucky

“Grizzly” bears got their name because they have gray hairs in their coats. A. True B. False

Grizzly bears do not have a good sense of smell. A. True B. False

List one thing that people can do to protect grizzly bears. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

BONUS! Draw a picture of a grizzly bear and its cub

ANSWER KEY: 1.	Correct answer: D. Grizzly bears are omnivores. The answer can be found on page 2, second paragraph. Related information is found in “Big Bear, Small Food” on the center poster. Ask students, “What does it mean to be an omnivore?” Omnivores eat many different kinds of foods, as opposed to eating just plants (herbivore) or just other animals (carnivore). Ask students, “What sorts of things do grizzly bears eat?” As omnivores, grizzly bears eat all sorts of things. Sometimes they hunt and will eat elk and fish, and sometimes they will eat flowers like dandelion leaves. Grizzly bears are opportunists, too, which means they will eat human food if they can get to it. 2.	Students can answer this question in a variety of ways. Ask students, “What does it mean to hibernate?” When animals hibernate, they are spending the cold months in an inactive or dormant state. Grizzlies prepare for hibernation by eating lots of food in the fall so that they can remain inactive for the winter months. They will also dig a den for hibernation. This information is found on page 3, first and second paragraphs, (a continuation of the cover article). 3.	Correct answer: C. Wyoming. In the U.S. grizzlies can be found in parts of Wyoming, Montana, northern Idaho, and northern Washington. Information can be found on the center poster in “Grizzly Bears Live Where?” If available, show students a map of the U.S. and let them point out the states where you would find grizzly bears. 4.	Correct answer: A. True. Grizzlies got their name because of the gray, bristly hairs in their coat. Information is found on page 2, first paragraph. If students are struggling for the answer to this question, ask them what they think about when they hear the word “grizzly”. One hint could be that the correct answer (gray) starts with the same letters as “grizzly”. 5.	Correct Answer: B. False. Grizzly bears have an excellent sense of smell. In fact, grizzlies can detect food from miles away. The answer can be found on page 2, second paragraph (continuation of cover article). To see if students are able to extend what they learned beyond the text, ask students, “Why might grizzly bears need to have an excellent sense of smell?” Possible answers—grizzlies use their sense of smell to hunt for food. This sense of smell allows them to seek out just about any food that’s around, including insects, berries, fish, and even small mammals 6.	To protect grizzly bears, humans can do a variety of things. Students’ answers should be drawn from the information in “At Home with Grizzlies,” “Good News for Planet Earth,” “When Is a Grizzly Bear an Umbrella?” and “Heroes of the Planet.” Students could answer that people can protect grizzly bear habitat, noting that grizzly bears are an “umbrella species” with which many other species share its habitat. People should not buy houses or drill for oil in grizzly habitat. People should not build highways across bear migration paths. In addition, and in a broader sense, people can help combat global warming. Global warming contributes to the killing off of plants and animals that grizzlies feed on. Thus, any action we take, including recycling or changing our light fixtures to compact fluorescents, helps grizzly bears.

BONUS: Ask students to describe their pictures. Ask students, “What is something interesting you learned about grizzly bear cubs?” Some answers could be that grizzly bear cub stay with the mother bear for two to three years to learn how to be grizzly bears. Students could also mention that pregnant females give birth to one to three cubs during hibernation. Cubs stay close to their mothers to learn what to eat and also learn other survival skills. They also play fight with each other to learn about how to survive. Information on grizzly bear cubs can be found the top of page 2 (a continuation of the cover article)