Description and Distribution 59 



danger threatens is to send her cubs up a tree. She 

 will then frequently try to induce the enemy to follow 

 her and, when she has eluded him, will return for the 

 cubs. In parts of the country where there are grizzlies, 

 or where there are wolves, she will generally thus dis- 

 pose of her children before herself going off to feed on 

 berries or other provender. In all my experience I 

 have never known cubs, when thus ordered into retire- 

 ment by their mother, to come down from the selected 

 tree until she called them. They will climb to the ex- 

 treme top; run out to the ends of all the branches in 

 turn, chase each other up and down the trunk, and 

 finally curl up in some convenient fork and go to sleep. 

 But though it may be hours before the old bear comes 

 back for them nothing will induce them to set foot on 

 the ground until she comes. 



Later in life the Black Bear continues to regard trees 

 as its natural refuge from all dangers. They will in- 

 variably ''tree'' when pursued by dogs, chased by a 

 man on horseback, or otherwise threatened. And a 

 few years ago I witnessed an amusing incident which 

 shows that these are not the only circumstances under 

 which a Black Bear thinks to find safety in its favorite 

 refuge. I was engaged at the time in trying to get 

 some flash-light photographs of grizzlies, and one after- 

 noon, soon after I had gotten my apparatus set up 

 and was waiting for darkness and the appearance of my 

 expected sitters, a violent thunderstorm came up. I 



