270 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 61, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



been out of hibernation for quite a while. The bears that we 

 observed at this time were very sluggish, still fat, and apparently 

 did not require large quantities of food. A local guide said that 

 he once found a bear sleeping on a snow patch, and the trail lead- 

 ing to the bear had thawed away. The guide believed that bears 

 sometimes remain several days in one spot. 



In early spring, the bears remain high in the mountains, in the 

 upper valleys, among the rocky ledges and high snowfields, as 

 well as in the lava beds. During May and early June, there is 

 still much snow in the mountains, especially in scattered deep 

 drifts, and the weather is often cold and stormy. But the bears 

 are immune to such weather and generally are seen resting on 

 exposed rocky ledges or snow banks. This is their habitat until 

 at least the middle of June, though a few may appear in the 

 lowlands much earlier. Bear trails were found on the slopes of 

 Pavlof Volcano and on many of the high ridges, as well as on the 

 glacier in the shadow of Aghileen Pinnacles. 



For the most part, the spring diet consists of grass and roots, 

 varied occasionally by a ground squirrel. The stomach of a male 

 killed on May 24 contained a ground squirrel, various roots, and 

 a mass of Equisetum (horsetail). A large male killed on May 30 

 had only a handful of roots in the stomach. The stomach of a 

 female killed on June 3 was empty, but the intestines contained 

 a considerable amount of grass. At this time of year, there is 

 little else for the bears to eat, unless they occasionally find some 

 carrion. 



When the salmon ascend the streams in June, the bears seem to 

 subsist largely on salmon. However, they do not entirely forsake 

 the highlands. Long trails leading back to the highlands show 

 the routes of travel down to the salmon streams, though the 

 bears often sleep near the streams, in the alder thickets. The 

 bears scoop out beds along the banks, and sometimes pile up 

 moss and other vegetation to form a mattress. We found one 

 such structure at Izembek Bay, and, in 1911, Wetmore described 

 a similar heap found at Morzhovoi Bay, at a salmon pool: "On 

 the bank above this was a curious bed of moss and grass dug 

 up from the ground around piled up a foot deep and twelve 

 feet square. Below it were smaller ones freshly made about two 

 feet square and all padded down as though bruin had been sitting 

 on them." 



I have observed a bear capturing salmon only once. It took 

 place in July 1925, when I was photographing a bear that was 

 attempting to dig out a ground squirrel. The bear seemed to be 



