Massive grizzly bear dwarfs storage shed; questions are raised
Photos showing an enormous grizzly bear dwarfing a storage shed while scratching its back on the structure have raised questions.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks used the images in a quiz that asked followers to guess whether this was a grizzly bear or black bear. But the answer was clearly visible in the description’s wording:
“Here is a helpful hint: Grizzly bears are generally larger than black bears and may be bigger than a small shed. Also, they can be distinguished by longer, curved claws, humped shoulders, and a face that appears to be concave.”
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If that wasn’t a giveaway, two hashtags mentioned grizzly bears and not one mentioned black bears. (See images below.)
Perhaps a better question was asked by the photographer, Jamie Goguen, who wondered on Facebook how much this grizzly bear might weigh.
Wrote Goguen: “Our old generator storage structure on Montana’s eastern front has become Brutus’s personal scratch tree. Then he took a nap.”
Goguen’s post generated more than 2,000 comments, mostly pertaining to the size of the bear. (The image showing the napping bruin reveals the telltale grizzly bear hump.)
Male grizzly bears are larger than females and can weigh up to 700 pounds. Black bears of the same sex and age class can be half the size of grizzly bears.
Grizzly bears are known to scratch against trees, power poles and other structures as a means of “scent marking” to communicate with other bears.
