As part of a bear population study, data were gathered on a sample of black bears in the western United States to examine the relationship between the Bear's neck girth (distance around the neck) and the weight of the bear. An examination of the scatterplot indicated that the neck girth was positively associated with weight and did not appear to be curved. The R-squared value from a least squares regression analysis was determined to be R-squared = 0.963. Which of the following is the correct value and corresponding interpretation for the correlation?

A) The correlation is -0.963, and 96.3% of the variation in a Bears weight can be explained by its neck girth.

B) The correlation is 0.963. There is a strong positive linear relationship between a bears his neck girth and its weight.

C) The correlation is 0.981, and 98.1% of the variation in the Bears weight can be explained by it's neck girth.

D) The correlation is -0.981. There is a strong negative linear relationship between a bears his neck girth and its weight.

E) The correlation is 0.981. There is a strong positive linear relationship between a bears neck girth and it's weight.