Characteristics and Habits 213 



idea; for an occurrence of this kind would have been 

 against all experience.'* 



I once found six of these dens in a single day in the 

 Selkirks, and not more than one bear had come from any 

 of them, although, while some of the dens were only large 

 enough for one to lie in, others were of a size sufficient to 

 hold several bears had they wished to sleep together. In 

 the smaller caves, because of restricted quarters, I found 

 much hair that had been rubbed off the animal by contact 

 with the sharp rock, as each had changed his position from 

 time to time during his long period of slumber. Now, 

 were it a common practice for bears to den together in the 

 same cave, it seems that they would have done so here; 

 for all six caves were in the same ridge, and the two ex- 

 treme caves were less than half a mile apart. I thought, 

 at the time, that I would visit these caves in the fall and 

 see if the same den was occupied year after year, but the 

 opportunity to do so never presented itself. 



The grizzly is rather a restless fellow just before den- 

 ning up. The bed is usually prepared beforehand and 

 made ready for occupancy at a moment's notice. After 

 which, long excursions in search of food are often made 

 about the country, some of them to points as far as ten or 

 twenty miles away. 



To what age the grizzly lives in the wild state is 

 entirely a matter of conjecture. I am of the opinion, how- 

 ever, that, under favorable circumstances, they live to be 

 from twenty-five to forty years old. I have come to this 

 conclusion from the fact that I once, for twelve successive 

 years, kept track of one identical bear that was full grown 

 when I first met him, and that showed no evidence of old 



