2 FIELD MUSUEM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. X. 



It is evident, therefore, that this peculiar Lear is practically in- 

 termediate in color between the glacier bear (emmonsi) and the pure 

 black bear (americanus) . By some, no doubt, it would be regarded 

 as a hybrid and this it may very well be, but with the present limited 

 knowledge of Ursus emmonsi as a species, any conclusion in regard 

 to it is somewhat hypothetical. In casting about for an explanation 

 of the peculiarity of this specimen, other than that of hybridity, one 

 finds some probability in the idea that Ursus emmonsi may not be a 

 species nor even a subspecies but only a color phase of Ursus ameri- 

 canus. It should be emphasized perhaps that such an idea is distinctly 

 hypothetical and of value only as a possible alternative to be kept in 

 mind in judging such facts as may be disclosed from time to time in 

 the future. 



Many circumstances in addition to our specimen lend probability 

 to the view that the glacier bear may be a color phase. Since its 

 discovery some fifteen years ago, scattering skins more or less similar 

 to those seen by the original describer have found their way to various 

 American museums and private collectors. The total number is very 

 small, perhaps not exceeding fifteen,* in spite of the recent activity 

 of travelers and collectors on the coast of Alaska. Of this small 

 number, the majority are imperfect and nearly all are unaccompanied 

 by skulls or with imperfect ones only. The number of authentic 

 observations regarding the habits and distribution of this interesting 

 bear is still smaller and our entire knowledge of it, therefore, is ex- 

 ceedingly incomplete. All the specimens thus far received are from 

 a small part of the coast of Alaska, extending approximately from 

 Lynn Canal to Cape St. Elias. The fact that this is a region of great 

 glaciers caused the animal to be called the glacier bear and from this 

 the idea soon prevailed that it lived exclusively in and about the 

 glaciers and had otherwise remarkable habits. The same region is 

 inhabited also by black and brown bears, both of which, especially 

 the former, are frequently found on or near the glaciers. In fact, 

 from such evidence as can be obtained from the inhabitants of the 

 region, both white and Indian, there is not the slightest foundation 

 for the belief that the habits of the so-called glacier bear differ in any 

 way from those of the ordinary black bear of the coast of Alaska. 



So far as can be judged by material now available, there is no 

 proof that the glacier bear differs from the black in cranial characters, 

 such fragmentary skulls as have been received being identical in every 



* My own observation includes only eight, all in public museums, but 

 several are known to be in private hands and doubtless a few others have been 

 preserved. 



