94 



MAMMALS OF AMERICA 



ALASKA BROWN BEAR 



Ursus middendorffi Mcrriani 



Other Names. — Kodiak. or Kadiak Bear. 



General Description. — General appearance about as 

 in Grizzly Bear. See general description of Grizzly 

 Bear. Largest of American carnivores and probably 

 largest in the world. General color golden-brown. 

 Shoulders high, head broad, forehead massive, nose 

 flat, short, square; drop in the line of the head directly 

 in front of eyes. 



Dental Formula. — Same as that of Grizzly Bear. 



Pelage. — Se.xes similar and seasonal variation rather 

 slight. Color uniform brown or golden with same color 

 on the legs. Coat long, thick and shaggy. 



Measurements. — Length. 9 to 10 feet: height at 

 shoulders. 45 to 50 inches. Weight, 1200 to 1600 pounds. 



Range. — Kodiak Island and adjacent mainland of 

 Alaska. 



Food. — Principally salmon and vegetation. 



Remarks. — The Kodiak Bear is regarded as a repre- 

 sentative of the group of Big Brown Bears ranging 

 throughout northwestern Arctic America. This group 

 is differentiated from the Grizzly Bears farther south, 

 to whom they are very closely related, mainly by the 

 lighter brown coloration of the pelage, higher shoul- 

 ders, wider head and shorter claws. The Kodiak Bear 



is probably the largest of the group but they are all 

 large animals. Some six or eight species of this group 

 have been described. 



Rel.\ted Species 



Kodiak Bear. — Ursus middendoHH Merriam. 

 Typical animal as described above. Kodiak Island and 

 adjacent mainland of .Maska. 



Yakutat Bear. — Ursus dalli dalli Merriam. Size 

 large ; skull flattened in frontal region as contrasted 

 with highly arched frontals of middcndorfH. Yakutat 

 Bay region, .•\laska. 



Peninsular Brown Bear. — Ursus dalli gyas Mer- 

 riam. Larger than dalli. about same size as Kodiak 

 Bear. Region about Pavlof Bay, Alaska. 



Merriam's Brown Bear. — Ursus mcrriami Allen. 

 Allied to Yakutat Bear but differing in cranial char- 

 acters. Region about Portage Bay, Alaska. 



Kidder's Brown Bear. — Ursus kiddcri Merriam. 

 Decidedly smaller than Kodiak Bear, color much like 

 that of Peninsular Bear. Cook Inlet region, Alaska. 



Sitka Brown Bear. — Ursus sitkciisis Merriam. 

 Smaller than dalli and teeth of distinct type. Region 

 about Sitka, Alaska. 



The Alaska Brown Bear enjoys the distinction 

 of being the largest flesh-eating animal in 

 America, and jjrobably in the world. Its huge 

 bulk, powerful limbs, and beautiful coat of 

 golden-brown unite to give it an imposing ap- 

 pearance. It stands very high at the shoulders, 

 compared with its length, while its broad head, 

 heavy forehead, and small gleaming eyes have 

 given it a reptitation for ferocity which many 

 accounts belie. 



The habitat of this interesting Bear extends 

 along the coast of southeastern Alaska and most 

 of the large islands adjacent thereto. Kodiak 

 Island and the Alaskan Peninsula seem especi- 

 ally adapted to their liking. Here they roam 

 over this immense rugged country, seldom mo- 

 lested by man and certainly not by any other 

 enemy. 



.Maskan Bears hibernate during the long 

 Alaskan winters, and their hibernating dens are 

 generally in the most rugged mountains, where, 

 even in summer, there is no vegetation. The 

 cubs, usually two in number, are little round 

 balls of fur, so small that a man could easily 

 hold one in the hollow of his hand. In Alaska, 

 it is daylight from June to September ; and when 

 the bears come down to the lowlands they 

 usually settle themselves in a brushy, well- 

 watered valley. Here the cubs .vill play for 



hours at a time in the long sunshine, the mother 

 Bear watching them or dozing in the dry grass. 

 In their first lessons in living off the cotmtry, 

 the cubs begin with ptarmigan chicks and held 

 mice. Later the mother Bear instructs them in 

 catching marmots and ground squirrels. As 

 the summer passes, the hungry beasts make 

 their way to the salmon rivers as the fish are 

 coming up from the sea to spawn. They gen- 

 erally fish in shajlows above a deep pool. Sta- 

 tioning themselves where there is hardly suffi- 

 cient water to cover the pebbles, they will 

 patientlv wait for the fish to come within their 

 reach, when they will throw the salmon out upon 

 the hank with their paws and feast to their 

 heart's content. When the salmon have gone, 

 the Bears betake themselves to the heights above 

 the timber line, where they may be seen " like 

 grazing oxen rolling across the hills." They are 

 now taking on fat for their long winter's sleep, 

 and their fur grows long and silky. 



The New York Zoological Park possesses one 

 of the largest Alaskan Bears in captivity — 

 known as Ivan. He was taken at the head of a 

 canyon looking down on Bering Sea. The 

 mother had been killed, and the cub, which was 

 standing liy the body, was driven into a glacial 

 stream. His captor says : " He was helpless in 

 the swift water, and I caught him behind his 



