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Grizzly Bear
Distribution
There
are two subspecies of
grizzly bear in North America. The coastal brown bear or Kodiak bear (Ursus
arctos middendorffi) is found on the
islands and south coast of Alaska.
Grizzlies
in the NWT, Ursus
arctos horribilis,
are divided into four distinct
populations, based on the ecosystems they inhabit. Arctic coastal grizzlies occupy the area between Inuvik and
Coppermine, and are particularly abundant on Richards Island west of the
Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula. Arctic
mountain grizzlies are found primarily in the northern Yukon from the Alaska
border to the Richardson Mountains, which overlap the north-western part of the
NWT. The northern
interior population ranges throughout northern British Columbia, most of the
Yukon, and extends into the southern Mackenzie District.
The fourth classification is the barren-ground grizzly, which occurs over
the northern and eastern Mackenzie District, and the central portion of the
Keewatin District. On
all parts of their range, grizzlies prefer open or semi-forested areas.
They are most common in alpine and subalpine terrain, or on the tundra,
but sightings in the boreal forest are not unusual.
Grey shaded area - Distribution of
Grizzly Bears
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