The Return Yellowstone Grizzly

Yellowstone GrizzliesLike the bald eagle and the buffalo, the grizzly bear isa symbol of America’s frontier heritage. And, like the baldeagle and the buffalo, grizzlies were once close to extinctionin most of the United States.Two hundred years ago, grizzly bears lived throughoutthe western United States. Their habitat stretched fromthe Great Plains to the Pacific, and from Canada toMexico. In 1800, more than 50,000 grizzly bears lived inwhat is now the lower 48 states. By 1975, fewer than 1,000grizzlies remained.In 1975, the United States Fish and Wildlife Servicelisted the grizzly bear as a threatened species. This meantthat grizzlies were likely to become endangered—indanger of being wiped out in all or most of their naturalhabitat. People then began a great effort to protect grizzlybears. Since that time, the grizzly population has been onthe rise. One of the best examples of this comeback is thegrizzly bears of Yellowstone National Park.2