How big is this griz?

[Paul in Idaho]

I saw my first grizzly bear two weeks ago in Alaska. I'm guessing it was a smaller, young one, but never having seen others, I'm not sure how to judge. What do you think?

 

[SFC B]

Nice pic either way!!

 

[Gunner46]

Their size is exponentially proportional to how close they are to you. If you took this pic with a 10X zoom lense, it's a smallish young bear. If you tool it with your cell phone, that is one Big Sucker !!

 

[Topgun 30-06]

He or she is sure not a cub!

 

[MKotur325]

That looks like a fairly young bear to me. Notice that the ears appear to be fairly close together and relatively large in comparison to the head? I would guess a 4-5 year old bear. Regardless... Beautiful picture Paul!

 

[MT_elk]

I agree with Mkotur325. The head is a good general way to judge the size (ears, snout length, etc).

 

[MTBirdhunter]

Mature?

I saw my first grizzly bear two weeks ago in Alaska. I'm guessing it was a smaller, young one, but never having seen others, I'm not sure how to judge. What do you think?

I was in Alaska last August of 2013, it looks similar to other inland grizzly's we saw around Denali and some other areas. I am far from an expert on grizz, but I would say it 450lbs? I noticed the inland grizzly's had a lot lighter coat then the coastal cousins, some of them even appearing as a silvery color from a distance, thus, silverbacks. They are a very cool animal to watch, my wife took some awesome pics on our bus tour in Denali of quite a few of them, even has a photo of two of them sparring on their hind legs, like I said, it was awesome!

 

[Bambistew]

Looks like an old sow to me. Any other pictures?

Cool shot.

 

[Paul in Idaho]

Thanks for the replies and input!

Their size is exponentially proportional to how close they are to you. If you took this pic with a 10X zoom lense, it's a smallish young bear. If you tool it with your cell phone, that is one Big Sucker !!

Love it. I took the photo from the truck, with a 400mm lens. I'd guess the bear was about 30 yards away at the closest point.

It looks to me like it's missing a chunk of hair on its hindquarter. I wonder if it was in a fight?

More photos:

 

[L. I. Yankee]

Cool pics no matter how big...thanks for sharing.....

 

[Paul in Idaho]

Thanks, L.I. Yankee.

Once I was sure I had some good still photos, I switched to my video camera. I just uploaded the footage to YouTube: http://youtu.be/csW1p7YTC3E

 

[Ben Long]

All grizzly bears weigh 1000 pounds. Actual fact. Cubs are born weighing 1000 pounds. I read it in the papers.