Dangerous Creatures: Grizzly Bear

   Okay, I’ve transcribed the guided tours from Microsoft’s Dangerous Creatures. Now it’s time to start on the narration sections from the animal pages themselves.
   But before we begin, I should probably explain the layout that each screen in the program follows. On each page’s main screen, there are several links to smaller pop-up screens, every one of which has a short piece of narration. There’s always one of those pop-up screens that features a short video; sometimes there are two. In the top left-hand corner of every main screen is a “facts” subpanel, which always comes with a piece of “free advice” that I’ll also be transcribing. A lot of the time, that advice is really practical, but sometimes it’s not really advice at all.
   Also, in the top right-hand corner of every screen, even the pop-up ones, is a button that takes you to another screen that’s related in some way. When you click on it, there’s always a brief narration caption explaining the connection before loading the next screen. In the main screens, this can sometimes create really long uninterrupted chains. There are a few screens that none of the other main ones lead to, so they’re the ones that’ll be starting each chain in this blog. And just because I end a chain at a particular point doesn’t mean the screen it ends on doesn’t lead to anything; it’s just that it leads to a screen that I think fits better where it stands in another chain.
   So I hope that explains it well enough. I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it once we get started, anyway. :)
   I hope you enjoy this daily wildlife lecture. :)
   And now, we begin with the grizzly bear.

GRIZZLY BEAR (Northwest North America)

   Cave paintings – and fossilised bones – tell us that giant bears lived in Europe hundreds of thousands of years ago.
   And who’s the biggest bear of all? Grizzlies easily outweigh polar bears and black bears.
   As more and more people take over the land, there are fewer places for bears to live.
   Face-to-face with a standing grizzly? Back away slowly. Or shout and wave your arms.
   Grizzly bears love fish. Especially salmon.
   Grizzlies can grow from less than a pound to more than 1,500 pounds. And that in only ten years or so!
   Black bears and grizzlies live in the same areas. The black bear, which sometimes looks brown, doesn’t have a hump.
   Video: During the salmon season, grizzly bears meet at their local fishing hole. Some arguments can always be expected about who gets the best fishing spot. But there are usually enough fish for every bear to get a share.
   Advice: Don’t stare at a grizzly. That’s a challenge in bear language. Speak softly, and back away. If it attacks – and you don’t faint of fright right away – play dead, and the bear may leave you alone.

Next (coming tomorrow): Grizzly bears are gigantic. But their newborn cubs could fit into a shoebox! Aren’t animal babies interesting?