Real grizzly bear paw. Bear has been sedated for tagging.
Also…
From the journals of Meriwether Lewis, before the Corps of Discovery had their first encounter ever with a grizzly: “the Indians may well fear this anamal equiped as they generally are with their bows and arrows or indifferent fuzees, but in the hands of skillfull riflemen they are by no means as formidable or dangerous as they have been represented.”
From the journals of Meriwether Lewis a week later, AFTER his party had encountered their first grizzly, needing 10 shots to bring it down, including five shots to the head (like good outdoorsmen, they used the entire bear–meat for food, fat for fuel, fur for clothing). It is perhaps the greatest understatement in American history: “I find that the curiossity of our party is pretty well satisfyed with rispect to this anamal.”
Until John McCain’s much-publicized statements about how it was a huge waste of government funds, my little sister’s honest-to-gosh day job was trapping, tranquilizing and transporting adult female grizzly bears (I bravely wrestle computers). Her husband is a freelance photographer/videographer who had been in National Geographic, so they have some amazing photos and films of the bears; he recently filmed an ABC piece on “Surviving Grizzly Attacks”, featuring Bart the bear and his trainer Doug Seus, who was the best man at their wedding.
Grizzlies are on the cusp of being de-listed as endangered species in a couple states, even as they are disappearing in many of the others.