﻿IRational Zoological park 



FURTHER NOTES ON THE BREEDING OF THE AMERI- 

 CAN BLACK BEAR IN CAPTIVITY 



By A. B. BAKER 



ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT, NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK 



In 1904 the writer published a brief account of the breeding of 

 American black bears at Silver Lake Park, near Akron, Ohio, dur- 

 ing a period of 12 years which ended with January, 1903. 1 The 

 breeding of these animals has continued there up to the present time, 

 so that data are now available for a period of 21 years, and it seems 

 worth while to give a further account of the matter, in view of the 

 interest which has recently developed in the breeding of fur-bearing 

 animals. 



The place where the bears are kept is a small summer resort. 

 Early in its development a collection of hardy animals was started, 

 with the central feature a " bear pit," and the first bears there were 

 a pair of cubs obtained in 1888, from two different localities near 

 Lake Superior. These bred when three and a half years old and 

 produced their first cub seven months later, on January 23, 1892. 

 Thereafter, the pair had young very regularly, missing only five 

 times in 18 years, with a total of 34, or possibly 35 cubs. Two 

 younger females which were allowed to breed had their first off- 

 spring in January, 1902 and 1906. They had produced, up to Janu- 

 ary, 1912, 10 litters with 22 cubs, and 5 litters with 12 cubs. This 

 gives a total of 68 or 69 cubs in 21 years. 



The original pair occupies a circular brick pit 20 feet across and 

 12 feet deep, which is connected by an underground passage with 

 another similar pit to which the bears can be transferred when 

 necessary. The pits are located in a dry hillside which slopes toward 

 the east. The floor is of terra cotta blocks set in cement, so that 

 the place can be easily washed out with a hose, and this is frequently 

 and thoroughly done. There is also a bathing tank in the pit ; and 

 the brick-lined entrance passage, through which access to the pit is 



1 Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 45, pp. 175-179. 



Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 59, No. 10 



