194 The Grizzly Bear 



perhaps, fewer bears of this particular color than of any 

 other, and if one is to be governed by the comparative 

 commonness of a particular type, I v^ould select as a 

 typical hide one with the head very light in color and 

 shading away to a point back of the shoulders, and the 

 remainder of the body rather dark, with the long hairs 

 slightly tipped with white. It is to be noted that, among 

 the bears described by Dr. Hornaday as at that time in 

 the Bronx Zoo, the one from Wyoming and the one from 

 Alaska approximated to this description. I have seen more 

 grizzlies of this general color scheme than of any other, 

 and that, too, in all parts of their range. 



Of course the time of year at which the grizzly is seen 

 may, and, I believe, often does, make a difference in its 

 color; for a bear that is dark in October may be a rusty- 

 red or a golden-brown in June. But, so far as I am able 

 to judge, this change in the color of the pelage of a par- 

 ticular bear occurs only in those of one dark color, and, 

 even then, is the result of particular conditions, and fol- 

 lows no established or dependable rule. A bear that is 

 white about the head and shoulders is, I believe, more than 

 likely to remain this color at all times. 



At one place in British Columbia, where I hunted for a 

 number of years, there was a bear that we saw year after 

 year that was apparently snow white from the tip of his 

 nose to the end of his tail. This bear was seen not only by 

 myself, and by various gentlemen who accompanied me 

 at different times, but by others at different times of the 

 year. I have also seen and recognized, year after year, 

 grizzlies of a dark hue, and know for a certainty that they 

 changed scarcely at all in color. 



