Description and Distribution 187 



downward and backward as do those of the black bear; 

 nor are they so sharply pointed. But, as may be seen from 

 the photograph, they cannot be justly spoken of as 

 "nearly straight." 



The hind paws of all bears differ from their front paws 

 more radically than those of most quadrupeds, and while 

 those of the grizzly do not differ from those of other bears 

 as markedly as do their fore paws, they are none the less 

 easily distinguished. The tracks left in snow or mud or 

 dust by these hind paws bear an uncanny resemblance to 

 the mark of a human foot, and it is to this the animal owes 

 its nicknames of "Old Ephraim" and "Moccasin Joe." 



It may, perhaps, be of interest to note, by means of 

 reference to the accompanying photographs, the more 

 salient and easily recognized differences in the tracks of 

 the black and the grizzly bear, these animals being fre- 

 quently met with in the same regions. On the fore paw 

 of the black bear the pad is quite round at the front, and 

 slightly convex at the rear. It does not have the in- 

 dentation found on the inside of the grizzly^s front foot, 

 and is, roughly speaking, somewhat kidney-shaped. The 

 outer side of the pad is also much narrower than that of 

 the grizzly. The claws are not so long and are different 

 in shape, curving much more at or near the point, and 

 they are proportionately broader at the base, growing 

 more like the claws of the cat. The foot is also much 

 thinner. Both the front and hind feet have greater mus- 

 cles, presumably developed by climbing. The black bear 

 does not do so much digging as the grizzly, and therefore 

 does not wear his claws down so short in proportion to 

 their length as does the latter. To be sure, he turns over 



