Roaring Back

Yellowstone's grizzlies may be taken off the threatened-species list. Are officials being too bullish?

By Michael D. Lemonick Monday, Aug. 15, 2005
    • AL GRILLO / AP

    BREAKFAST: A brown bear catches a salmon

    (3 of 3)

    GIANT PANDA Weight: Up to 275 lbs. Length: Up to 6 ft. 4 in. Range: Mountainous areas of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces in western China How dangerous: Not. The giant panda is extraordinarily shy and will avoid contact with humans at all costs Status: Highly endangered; no more than 1,000 remain in the wild

    SUN BEAR Weight: 60 to 145 lbs. Length: Up to 5 ft. Range: India, Burma, Laos, southern China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia How dangerous: Quite. Will attack humans without provocation Status: Unknown, because of insufficient field data. Poaching and habitat destruction have conservation experts worried

    GRIZZLY BEAR/ BROWN BEAR Weight: 300 to 860 lbs. Length: Up to 9 ft. 6 in. Range: Western Canada, northwestern U.S., Alaska, Russia; tiny remnant populations in Europe, India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, the Middle East, Japan, Korea, China How dangerous: Very. Won't usually attack without provocation, but it doesn't take much Status: Thriving in Alaska, Canada, northern Russia; recovering in the U.S.; in danger of extinction in much of the rest of the world

    3. 1
    4. 2
    5. 3
    6. Next Page