Grizzlies are larger than black bears and more heavily built with a long, upturned snout and a prominent muscled hump just over the shoulders. Their coats have course guard hairs and thick under-fur. Their fur flows and ripples as they run. Their color varies from dark brown to cinnamon to almost black.

They are omnivorous and graze on roots, sprouts of new grass and sedges. They also feed on lemmings and ground squirrels which they dig out of their burrows with long curved, very sharp claws, perfectly designed for digging.

Although not the predominant predator of caribou and other large animals, grizzlies will kill caribou, moose and sheep if they have the opportunity. Caribou calves are eaten by grizzlies, but can out-run a grizzly at three weeks of age, so are therefore safe not long after birth.

Grizzlies den during the winter at which time food is in short supply. The cubs are born in the den in January or February in litters of one to three cubs. At birth they are hairless and blind. They emerge with their mother from the den in springtime and remain with her for over a year. They den with their mother for the next winter and are then chased away in the spring. However during the time the cubs spend with their mother she teaches them all that they will need to know as independent adults.