Moths on the Mountain: teacher key

Grizzly Bears, grade 8 edition, written for 8th grade. Some grizzlies climb mountain slopes to eat moths. Learn how bears fuel up, roam and leave salmon nutrients in the trees.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. How many moths can a bear eat in one day on a talus slope?
   • 40,000 to 60,000 (answer)
   • About 40
   • About 400
2. Which food is the richest documented food for grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone area?
   • Elk
   • Army cutworm moths (answer)
   • Strawberries
3. How do young males set up a home range, compared with young females?
   • They stay closer
   • They stay in the same spot
   • They move farther from their mother's (answer)
4. Moths provide 8 kilocalories per gram. What does this show about moths as food?
   • They are a very rich source of energy (answer)
   • They are a poor source of energy
   • They have no energy
5. Where did much of the nitrogen in riverside trees in Alaska come from?
   • Moths
   • Salmon (answer)
   • Snow
6. What is talus?
   • A kind of moth
   • A winter den
   • A loose rock slope (answer)

Words

• talus: loose rock slope
• hyperphagia: eating a lot
• kilocalories: energy units
• nutrients: body food