Ordway Records the First Encounter with Grizzly Bears
On this day, members of the expedition had one of their first close encounters with a grizzly bear, an animal much larger and more formidable than the black bears they knew from the East. Ordway recorded the men's astonishment at the bear's size and measured its claws at over four inches long. Lewis would go on to document the species in detail, observing that grizzlies often required multiple rifle shots to kill, and his notes contributed to the earliest scientific records of the animal.
The expedition’s first encounters with grizzly bears were genuinely terrifying experiences for men accustomed to the smaller black bears of the East. Ordway’s straightforward account captures the men’s astonishment.
“It is the largest of the bear kind. Its talons were 4 inches and 3 eighths of an inch long. The men were much surprised at the Size of this animall.”
Lewis would later write extensively about the grizzly, noting that it took multiple rifle balls to bring one down. The expedition’s encounters with grizzlies were among the most dramatic wildlife events of the journey, and Lewis’s detailed descriptions contributed to the first scientific documentation of the species.
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The expedition's first encounters with grizzly bears were genuinely terrifying experiences for men accustomed to the smaller black bears of the East. Ordway's straightforward account captures the men's astonishment.
"It is the largest of the bear kind. Its talons were 4 inches and 3 eighths of an inch long. The men were much surprised at the size of this animal."
Lewis would later write extensively about the grizzly, noting that it took multiple rifle balls to bring one down. The expedition's encounters with grizzlies were among the most dramatic wildlife events of the journey, and Lewis's detailed descriptions contributed to the first scientific documentation of the species.
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