Non-Alaskan grizzly bears are indicator species for mountain ecosystems. In the nineteenth century, the grizzly bear nearly went
extinct in the lower forty-eight states and were eventually added to the federal Endangered Species List as a threatened species in
1975. Ranching and farming have driven the grizzly from the open plains, and today the species lives mostly in mountains and
forests. The reason for including the grizzly in the list of animal indicator species is that