t^t <E»n53fg 



taming one, it does not appear to have any natural- 

 history value. 



I have seen bears, reaching high, tear out pieces 

 of bark, and have also seen both bears and lions 

 put claw-marks upon trees. Generally this clawing 

 and biting was done during languid and leisurely 

 moments when there was nothing definite to do. 

 One day I watched a grizzly stand on hind feet 

 upon a five-foot snowdrift where he had been ly- 

 ing. Placing his front paws against a spruce as 

 high as he could reach, he clawed the bark indiffer- 

 ently. It was more of a muscle-stretching perform- 

 ance than anything else. He took a tiny bite out 

 of the tree and walked off with the strip of bark 

 in his mouth. Then he gave it a playful shake and 

 dropped it. 



It is well known that wolves, beavers, and some 

 other animals have information places. These may 

 or may not be intentionally established. Some of 

 these places are where wild-life trails cross, or are 

 near water-holes, salt-licks, play places, or some neu- 

 tral feeding-ground. They may be frequented exclu- 

 sively by one species or by several. Even the casual 

 visits and bark-biting of bears incidentally contri- 

 bute something of interest to the next visitors. 



48 



