Grizzly Bear: Habitat Relationships in the Yellowstone Area

January 1, 1983
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Habitat use by grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) was studied from 1977 through 1979 in a 20,000-km2 area with Yellowstone National Park in the center. Of 1826 aerial radio locations of 46 instrumented grizzlies, 90% were in timber. Threefourths of the locations were 100 m or less from an edge between timber and an opening. Timber over 3 m tall with a canopy cover of 26-75% accounted for 50% of all activity sites from March through November. The Abies lasiocarpa/Vaccinium scoparium community alone contained 23% of the total activity sites and 35% of the forested activity sites. Of 507 observations of feeding activity, 45% were recorded in timber over 3 m tall with a canopy cover of 26-100%, 34% in timber with a 0.1-25% canopy cover, 20% in open habitats, and 3% in timber less than 3 m tall. Ninety-nine percent of examined day beds were in forested communities.

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