THE MAMMALS 



439 



There are many others in this family that do not have such a pro- 

 nounced odor and do not throw their musk. They are a blood-thirsty 

 group including martens, minks, badgers, ermines, sables, weasels, and 

 otters. In spite of the rather nauseating odor of some of the live ani- 

 mals, they possess some of the most valuable furs on the market. 



The Bears. These are the largest of the carnivores. They are more 

 omnivorous in their diet than most of the order and have teeth adapted 



Photo by Winchester 



Fig. 28.15. American black bear. It is impossible to go far in Yellowstone Park 

 without meeting black bears that come to your car begging for a handout. 



to do some grinding. The black bears of North America are the ones 

 most commonly seen. No one can make a trip to Yellowstone Park with- 

 out seeing the black bears, which visit the garbage cans in the camps and 

 wait along the highway for handouts from passing cars. They seem to 

 be very tolerant toward the many tourists and their inevitable cameras, 

 but occasionally people will get bitten when they take undue liberties with 

 the bears and forget that these are wild animals. The brown bears and 

 cinnamon bears are only different color phases of the black bear, just as 

 we have the blondes, brunettes, and redheads in human beings. 



