Q 01/05

The word 'grizzly', often confused with 'grisly', is usually taken to describe what about the grizzly bear?

A) Its ferocious temper

B) Its grey-tipped fur

C) Its rumbling growl

D) Its enormous claws

Answer · why

B) Its grey-tipped fur

The name points to its grey-tipped fur: 'grizzled' means streaked with grey. Early explorers spelled it 'grisley', which left room for both readings.

Q 02/05

Grizzly bears belong to the order Carnivora, yet what may make up 80 to 90 percent of their diet?

A) Fish

B) Insects

C) Plants

D) Carrion

Answer · why

C) Plants

Plants such as grasses, roots and berries dominate the menu, even though a grizzly has a carnivore's digestive system. Meat matters most where salmon ...

Q 03/05

A grizzly bear reliably clocked at 30 mph in Yellowstone would outrun which of these over a short dash?

A) A thoroughbred racehorse

B) A racing greyhound

C) A pronghorn antelope

D) An Olympic sprinter

Answer · why

D) An Olympic sprinter

An Olympic sprinter would lose: Usain Bolt's fastest recorded burst was just under 28 mph. A racing greyhound tops 40 mph and a pronghorn passes 50.

Q 04/05

Which US state's flag shows a grizzly bear, although the state's last wild grizzlies vanished in the 1920s?

A) Washington

B) California

C) Arizona

D) Nevada

Answer · why

B) California

California put a grizzly on its flag, said to be modelled on Monarch, a bear caught in 1889 and kept in San Francisco. The state's last grizzly was re...

Q 05/05

What does the US National Park Service tell hikers to do if a grizzly bear attacks them?

A) Play dead

B) Run downhill

C) Shout and charge

D) Drop the backpack

Answer · why

A) Play dead

Play dead, lying flat on your stomach with your hands clasped behind your neck and your pack still on. With a black bear the advice flips: fight back.