GRIZZLY BEAR 



Scientifically they have been sepa- 

 rated into 9 groups, made up of 

 about 30 species and subspecies. In 

 this assortment there is a wide range 

 both in color and in size. 



The Toklat grizzly of the Alaska 

 Range, for instance, is cream- 

 colored, while the Shiras brown 

 bear of Admiralty Island is almost 

 coal-black. The grizzly of Norton 

 Sound is comparatively small, 

 but the Kodiak brown bear is a 

 whopper. 



Each of these bears is of prime 

 interest to the big-game hunter. 

 When wounded, the brown or the 

 grizzly will put up a fierce fight. 

 Mothers with cubs have been known 

 to attack people. 



Black bears are among the most 

 important of the big-game animals, 

 and range over about three-fifths 

 of Alaska. They are absent from 

 the islands of Frederick Sound, 

 those of the Alaska Peninsula, and 

 the treeless tundra along Bering 

 Sea and the Arctic Ocean. 



The weight of an adult black bear 

 is from 200 to 300 pounds, though 

 some have reached 500 pounds. In 

 Alaska, this bear is usually black, 

 but cinnamon and blue phases are 

 found — oddest and rarest is the 



bluish-colored glacier bear. Its 

 range is limited and lies between 

 Lynn Canal and Cape St. Elias. 



The young of black bears are born 

 in January, while the mother is still 

 in hibernation. There are from,one 

 to four cubs, which stay with the 

 mother for 2 years, as the female 

 breeds only every other year. 



Black bears eat grass, berries, 

 fish, rodents, insects, moose calves, 

 and occasionally other small ani- 

 mals. They are great scavengers, 

 and along the coast their flesh is 

 seldom palatable because they eat 

 dead fish and carrion. In the in- 

 terior and when they are not eating 

 flesh, bear meat is good. 



As a rule, black bears are not 

 hunted for trophies, though glacier 

 bears are prized by some sportsmen 

 because of their unusual color. 



The polar bear is one of Alaska's 

 larger bears. Males weigh from 

 700 to 1,600 pounds. Strong and 

 graceful swimmers, these huge 

 white animals live mostly along the 

 southern border of the ice pack in 

 Arctic waters. They move south in 

 winter to follow the food supply as 

 the ice shifts, then head back north 

 to the frozen packs in summer. A 



POLAR BEAR 



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