TION 



1058 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



and other species of animals in certain localities. A very 

 lingering spring, for instance, would compel Bears to leave 

 their winter 'washes'' while snow was still on the ground, and 

 thus enable the Indians to track and kill more than would 

 otherwise be possible." 

 HOME- The individual Bear is a wide ranger. Mittigwab, 



Indian guide of Mattawa, tells me that he several times fol- 

 lowed a big Bear on a round of 15 miles from its home. I find 

 it the opinion of trappers in general that adult Bears when foot- 

 loose will range about this distance. A mother Bear, with very 

 young cubs, is, of course, more of a stay-at-home. 



MTGRA- The hunters generally agree that the Blackbear migrates. 



Bachman, speaking apparently for the Carolinas, says:' "In 

 hard winters [it] is found to move southerly in considerable 

 numbers, although not in company." 



It is a common experience to find Blackbears suddenly 

 numerous where a few months before they were rare, but what 

 the nature and extent of this migration is, or whether regular in 

 time or direction, I have not yet been able to determine. 



All animals have a tendency to form beaten roads or 

 trails in their home-region — this trail to the water, that to a 

 favourite feeding ground, etc. The heavier the animal the 

 more marked the trail becomes. The pathway of a Ground- 

 squirrel through the prairie grass may be nearly invisible to us, 

 but the pathways of Buffalo and Wapiti are, as we have seen, 

 open and well-worn highways that serve mankind as they serve 

 the beast that made them. 



The present species is no exception to the rule. In all 

 parts of the country where Bears are numerous they have 

 well-placed, well-worn pathways, which are adhered to by the 

 race with precision that justifies the pioneer Bears which first 

 searched out and blazed them as the best and safest roads 

 from this to that inviting land of promise. 



' C/. Beaver, p. 460, foot-note. 



» Quad. N. A., 1849, Vol. Ill, p. 196. 



