CHAPTER XII 



NOTES ON THE GRIZZLY BEAR 



Rarity of the Grizzly in the United States — Seasons — The Grizzly 

 Bear's Calendar — Solitary Habits — Food of Grizzlies — A Carrion 

 Feeder — Weight of Grizzlies — " Grizzly" or " Silver-Tip" — Re- 

 strictions in Killing. 



In the United States, outside the Yellowstone Park 

 and the Bitter Root Mountains, grizzly bears are now 

 so very rare that it is almost impossible for a sportsman 

 to go out and kill one, no matter where he hunts, and no 

 matter how much money he spends. One of our best- 

 known writers on hunting matters, who has hunted in 

 the West at frequent intervals during the past fifteen 

 years, recently announced that he has now given up all 

 hope of killing a grizzly in our own country, and has 

 turned to British Columbia. 



In British Columbia you can find grizzlies, provided 

 you know when to go, and with whom to go. But the 

 autumn is not the best season for finding bears in that 

 country. If you would see the wild and untamed silver- 

 tip, in the high altitudes, go in the spring, for that is the 

 real season for hunting this grand species. Even then, 

 you may hunt, as did Mr. Phillips's brother Robert, " for 

 forty days, straight," without a sight of a silver-tip, or 

 a shot; but if you are lucky, you may bag two in a month. 



In the course of our camp-fire talk about bears and 

 other animals, we had a symposium on the habits of the 



I7X 



