In the past week I have seen Grizzly pictures on the blogs of two of the people that I follow. Today, I decided that I must make a Grizzly post. Part of my post today is copied from a previous post: Canadian Domain
One of the highlights of my recent trip to Canada was a trip to the Toronto Zoo. I had a wonderful day watching different animals, but one of the coolest was the Grizzly bear. I had to take a long walk to get to the exhibit as the Canadian Domain section of the zoo is tucked back in a valley away from the rest of the zoo. However, it is a beautiful valley and was well worth the walk.
Out in front of the Grizzly exhibit is a large Grizzly carved out of wood. It really gives you an idea of the size of a full grown Grizzly. I would not want to run into one of these out in the woods.
I took this nice shot of the Grizzly bear as he sat contemplating his visitors. I was glad that there was a nice thick wall of glass between us when I saw the size of his claws.
One job that I would not want to have would be to clip the nails of this Grizzly. I am sure however that they are great at tearing into trees in search of food.
This last picture of the Grizzly helps illustrate where the name comes from. We can really see the gray hair on the temples of the bear. He is a bit grizzled just like me.
The Latin name for Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) has an interesting story behind it. Horribilis actually comes from a misunderstanding by George Ord who was the naturalist responsible for the name. Grizzly refers to the gray hairs of the bear. Grisly means terrifying and that is how George misunderstood the name. Both words are pronounced the same, but have different meanings. It is all in the spelling. However, how many of us would think this was a horrible creature if we ran into it in the woods while out hiking?
I believe that the Grizzly is a beautiful animal, but was glad that their was a nice barrier between us. I have a lot of respect for people who have captured pictures of one in the wild.
What is the most terrifying and horrible animal to you?
Steven
Braman's Wanderings 
The most terrifying to me is the tarantula or a shark. A Blog I follow recently posted a picture of giant tarantula they saw along the way….I got shivers. I think I’d die of anxiety if one was on me….it’d be a slow, mind melting, heart stopping thing. Unlike a grizzly encounter, where you’d meet a short end.
Grizzlies are such an impressive animal! I especially enjoyed the close-up picture of the bear’s claws.
From my Mom in response to the link I posted on Facebook: One night your Grandpa Braman and your dad were sleeping in a sleeping bag. Grandpa was aware of the grizzly sniffing around. Dad woke when he heard the panting and Grandpa told him to be very still. The bear came over and hit Grandpa on the shoulder and then walked away. For years you could see the marks on the army colored feather filled sleeping bag. God is good!!!
Grizzlies are amazing but I bet your grandfather was terrified, and who could blame him. For me I would have to say that the most terrifying and horrible creature is spiders. Sharks are terrifying too. 🙂
The claws really set these great creatures apart. Beautiful animal.
Pingback: Camel Hump | Braman's Wanderings
Pingback: Giraffes | Braman's Wanderings
Pingback: Toronto Zoo II | Braman's Wanderings
Pingback: Outdoors Indoors | Braman's Wanderings
Pingback: Errands in Manteca | Braman's Wanderings