6 CIRCULAR 3, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



wilderness kingdom, this bear grudgingly gives way only to man and 

 his high-powered rifle. Even in the face of such odds it occasionally 

 puts up a great fight. Perhaps it is this courageous trait that has 

 made its shaggy hide such a desirable trophy and taldng its photo- 

 graph so memorable an experience. Although these giants of the 

 forests have been sadly decimated in the States, the big bro\viiie and 

 its cousin, the grizzly, still roam vast areas along the salmon streams 

 near the coast and among the mountain ranges of the central parts 

 of Alaska. Altogether, not less than 200,000 square miles (fig. 4) 

 are occupied by these bears, and smce the sale of their hides was 



COASTAL BROWN BEAR 



AND 



INTERIOR GRIZZLY BEAR 



ALASKA 1938 



Figure 4. — Distribution of large brown and grizzly bears. 



prohibited by Federal law several years ago, tliey have gradually 

 increased in numbers. The po])iilation of coastal brown bears has 

 been placed at about 8,500, and that of bears of the interior at 10,000. 

 As seen in the field, there is a remarkable similarity in appearance 

 between the large brown and the grizzly bears, but under close ex- 

 ammation they are found to differ in color, claws, skull, and teeth. 

 The pelage of the brown bear is more uniform in color, with less 

 admixture of golden or silver-tipped hairs, and is generally much 

 darker than that of the grizzly. The Shiras browTi bear found on 

 Admiralty Island is almost coal black. The claws of the broAsii bear 

 are shorter than those of the grizzly, and more ciu'vod, darker, and 

 rougher, and the skull is more massive. Occasional browii bears, 



