FAUNA OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS AND ALASKA PENINSULA 273 



but suddenly they became frightened and fled. Either the death 

 of the mother, or our scent, had frightened them. Upon exami- 

 nation, it was discovered that there was a small amount of milk 

 in the udders of the mother. Next day, the cubs were seen again 

 on the same mountain slopes; they were wary and seemed able 

 to shift for themselves. 



It has been said that the female brown bear has cubs only 

 every other year, or only over an interval of three years. This 

 may be true, for the female mentioned above had no young cubs 

 that year, and there may be some irregularity and individual 

 variation in the breeding cycle. The young number from two to 

 four; two are the usual number. 



According to some reports from the western end of Alaska 

 Peninsula, brown bears may go into hibernation in December, as 

 late as Christmas. Osgood (1904), speaking of the base of the 

 peninsula, on the authority of natives there, said that they go 

 into hibernation early in November, and even in October, but he 

 adds that the time of hibernation may vary with the severity 

 of the weather. They occasionally may emerge during the winter. 



Brown bears find dens in the lava rocks. I was told of several 

 such caves at the north base of Shishaldin Volcano on Unimak 

 Island. They are said to extend for a disance of as much as 

 100 feet. In 1925, I explored such a cave in a lava bed near 

 Shishaldin. It formed an underground tunnel some 30 or 40 feet 

 long and proved to be unoccupied at the time, though there were 

 huge footprints on the floor. 



Ursus arctos middendorffi 



This has been assumed to be the largest of all the Alaska brown 

 bears, though Merriam, in his monograph on these animals, sug- 

 gests that the peninsula bear may be fully as large. With in- 

 formation at hand, we are not in a position to decide. 



This bear occupies the Kodiak-Afognak Island group, ap- 

 parently including some of the smaller islands. E. M. Ball, of 

 Afognak, writing to Barton W. Evermann, of the Bureau of 

 Fisheries, January 10, 1914, says — 



It is true that the brown bear is found on Shuyak and Raspberry Islands, 

 as well as Afognak. The east end of Raspberry Straits is very narrow 

 and shallow and is often dry during heavy ebb-tides so that bears can 

 cross from one island to the other without entering the water. It is highly 

 probable that they swim across these straits. Presumably there are only 

 a few bears on Raspberry at this time. On Shuyak, however, bears are 

 comparatively plentiful, and the number is believed to be fairly constant 

 as local hunters seldom go that far for them. Shuyak Straits are narrow 

 though deep, and there may be some travel to and from Afognak Island. 



