96 



MAMMALS OF AMERICA 



large species found on Admiralty Island. Its 

 color usually resembles that of the Kodiak Bear. 



The Bears found well down on the Alaskan 

 Peninsula, Ursiis gyas, have a tendency to more 

 of a brownish yellow color. Their claws are of 

 great size and thickness. This species inhabits 

 the open country — that is, for the most part 

 devoid of timber. There are undoubtedly other 

 sections where the Bears differ from the ones 

 already described. 



It is commonly believed that feigning death 

 will prevent a Bear from inflicting further in- 

 juries, and I have heard of several cases where 

 it is supposed to have saved men's lives. The 

 supposition is that the Bear, believing his victim 

 dead, goes on about his business. W'ith beasts 

 of prey this strategy must not be too much 

 relied upon. In some cases it may prove effec- 

 tual with Bears, as Bears do not as a rule eat 

 human flesh. But with the Cat family T think 

 it would prove ineff'ective. Probably the con- 

 ventional expression, " the Bear hug " has no 

 significance. Black Bears hug tree trunks in 

 ascending trees adapted to their embrace, but 

 the Brown Bear is too large and too heavy for 

 that, and the claws are not adapted for climb- 

 ing. In fact, like the greater Pclidxc, they are 

 not constructed for any arboreal gymnastics. 

 There is no available evidence to show that this 

 or any other Bear attempts to inflict injury by 

 hugging an enemy with its arms. 



There is great divergence of opinion as to 

 the disposition of the Alaskan species, some say- 

 ing that it will avoid man, others that it will not 

 hesitate to go out of its way to make an attack. 

 Mr. Edward G. W. Ferguson, who spent seven 

 years in Alaska and familiarized himself with 

 the country and its fauna, is convinced " that 

 he is just naturally fearless and savage most 

 of the time." He cites two cases where this 

 Bear deliberately chose to attack men. In one 

 of these a Swedish prospector was making his 

 way to where he had left his pack. " His path 

 was of necessity circuitous, and he was scram- 

 bling his way among the huge boulders, when 

 suddenly he came face to face with a ' Silver- 

 tip ' (the local name of the Kodiak). The Bear 

 growled, dashed for him, mouth wide open, eyes 

 ablaze. The Swede, panic-stricken, thrust his 

 gun forward, and providentially into the Bear's 

 open mouth, and well into his throat. The Rear 

 closed his jaws over both barrels and crushed 



them ; but before he did this the Swede, unin- 

 tentionally without doubt, pulled both triggers 

 and the charge shattered the Bear's spine. The 

 carcass was brought to town . . . and 

 measured six feet seven inches from nose to tip 

 of the tail." 



The other case was that of a rodman engaged 

 in surveying, who was startled by seeing one 

 of these Bears waddle out of the brush and 

 make its way toward him. " The rodman backed 

 away toward the water as fast as he could, but 

 did not fire, realizing that his weapon, a shotgun, 

 could only wound and anger, but could not pos- 

 sibly kill the beast. I grabbed my rifle and ran 

 up the bar. The Bear did not even turn its head 

 to look in my direction, and by the time I was 

 within ICO feet of him the rodman had backed 

 into the stream up to his waist, and the Bear 

 was wading in after him. I yelled to him and 

 he let go both barrels at once full into the brute's 

 face. As we found out, the shot had blinded him 

 in both eyes. While he was roaring and thrash- 

 ing about, beating the water to a froth, I care- 

 fully emptied the magazine into him, coming 

 closer at each shot." 



This writer claims that the Bear " had no 

 reason for deliberately coming out of the woods 

 and chasing the rodman into the water " and 

 that he can be relied upon to tackle a man when- 

 ever he comes across one. 



Mr. Charles Sheldon, who hunted this 

 Brown Bear on Montague Island in 11)05, made 

 this entry in the diary of his trip : " 1 had pro- 

 ceeded but a few steps when suddenly I saw 

 about eight feet away, on the curving border of 

 the spruces, running directly at me, what ap- 

 peared to be a huge Bear. I had just time to 

 ])ush forward the butt of my rifle, and yell, when 

 it collided with me, knocking me down. It 

 seemed to turn slightly to the left as I pushed 

 my rifle into it, and I clearly recall its shoulder 

 striking my left hip, its head striking first above 

 my left knee, while its claws struck my shin, so 

 that it is now black and blue. I had the sensa- 

 tion of being mauled and nuUilated. As I fell, 

 to the right, my rifle dropjied, and in my con- 

 fusion, I grabbed with my left hand the animal's 

 fur. . . . The Bear was, I believe, more sur- 

 prised than I. I felt its fur slip through my 

 hand, as it quickly turned to its right, and, swing- 

 ing about, ran back over the hill without any 

 attempt to bite or strike me." 



Daniel ]. Singer. 



