The Unexpected Things Everyone Should Know About Grizzly Bears

Grizzly bears. While they might look cute and cuddly, the name alone should suggest they might be better left alone. After all, plenty of us have heard the phrase that we shouldn't poke the bear, right? Even though they're all around plenty of us, the unexpected things everyone should know about grizzly bears might be enough to paint them in a new light.

Sure, we know these bears are some of the most formidable hunters and really show how dangerous Mother Nature can be when she tries. We might even know just how tall they can grow and how they weigh up to 800 pounds, but what about the things that have slipped past us all these years?

Grizzly bears have been seen using CPR to get food

Yellowstone National Park is a real hotspot for grizzly bears, with over 700 calling the land their home. This means rangers can constantly measure what they're doing, including how to keep visitors safe. Plenty of campers know to bring bear-safe containers for their food, but it seems these grizzlies have learned how to get around those stubborn locks. In fact, plenty have been seen jumping on the canister with their front legs until the leg pops off, similar to a bear doing CPR, just to get at what's inside.

They don't eat as much as you might expect

When you picture a bear weighing up to 800 pounds, you might think they need a lot of food. Amazingly, it turns out they don't eat as much as many believe. While they have a knack for eating anything they can get their paws on - like elk, bison, moose, fruits, nuts, and berries - grizzlies don't tend to go mad with their meals until they reach the stage just before winter. Only then will they chow down on anything in their way, often gaining as much as three pounds a day, so they have enough in the tank to hibernate through winter.

Grizzly bears will happily eat other bears if they need to

Just when you think grizzly bears are starting to look a little cuter around the edges, you learn they will even chow down on other bears if they need to. That's right; some have been spotted eating black bears in Canada, with officials claiming they are opportunistic eaters who won't pass up on the chance for a free meal. Want something even worse? In 2017, it was reported that a male grizzly was seen eating a younger female grizzly bear.

They can run faster than the fastest man on the planet

Usain Bolt has long been the fastest man on the planet, but he has competition when it comes to grizzly bears. That's because these giant bears can actually reach incredible speeds of up to 35 mph. As if that wasn't enough, grizzlies can maintain speeds of 28 mph for two miles, meaning even the man himself wouldn't be able to outrun them. Even if he could, Usain Bolt can only run at 27.78 mph - and even that is just for a few seconds at a time.

A pair of grizzlies once lived at the White House

Bears and politics don't usually go together, but that didn't stop explorer Zebulon Pike from spicing up the White House back in 1807. Apparently, he thought it would be a good idea to give President Thomas Jefferson two grizzly bear cubs. He was reluctant, but Jefferson accepted the unusual gift and opted to keep the bears in a cage near the north entrance. However, he later passed them on to Charles Willson Peale, who worked as a museum operator at the time. Sadly, when one of the cubs became too aggressive with the family, it was shot.

They know how to cover their tracks if needed

Grizzly bears aren't the first thing people tend to picture when they think of intelligent animals, but it might be time to turn that all around. That's because they have far more going on upstairs than it seems on the outside. These bears know where to get their food from the best spots in the woods and will often return several years later. Some grizzlies have also been seen hiding behind trees and rocks in hunting areas and covering their tracks to ensure they can't be detected.

The unexpected things everyone should know about grizzly bears go to show just how amazing these creatures really are. Sure, they might look pretty scary, but there's a lot to love about grizzlies than just meets the eye.