POLAR BEAR, Thalarctos maritimus 



(Nanook) 



Range. — Circumpolar in Arctic Ocean. 



Habitat. — This is essentially a marine mammal, 

 typically found far at sea on the pack ice; it occa- 

 sionally comes to the coast and ev'en appears on 

 mainland tundra areas, but seldom far inland. 



Race in Alaska. — The polar bear of Alaska 

 waters is the typical race, maritiTtvus. Its pres- 



ence south of St. Lawrence Island is sporadic, and 

 the records from Kodiak Island and Yakutat Bay 

 aie definitely of freak occurrences. ""White bear 

 skins" seen at Prince "William Sound in 1778, as 

 reported in the Voi/ages of Captain James Cook 

 (vol. 2, p. 305, 1842), were probably the hides of 

 mountain goats. 



HT-A 



44 



