URSID/E 229 



Family Ursidae (Bears.) 



Plantig'nule ; size large or very larg-e; body stout; iive toes 

 on all the feet; tail riulimentary ; rostrum short; molars tuber- 

 culate; teeth 4J. 



This family consists of four or five g^enera and some fifteen 

 or more species, widely distributed through the northern hemi- 

 sphere, with one South American species Thev are terrestrial 

 and most species are diurnal or nocturnal, according- to circum- 

 stances. The food of most species is principally of a vegetable 

 nature. 



Genus Ursus Linn. (Bear.) 

 First three premolars in each jaw small, single rooted, often 

 deciduous; sectorial teeth greatly modified, practically tubercu- 

 late; audital bullcT small. 



Ursus horribilis Ord. { H orril)le. ) 



GRIZZLY BEAR. 



Very large; claws of fore feet very long, twice the length 

 of the claws of the hind feet, nearly straight ; skull and teeth 

 large and massive; liair coarse; color variable, usually the tips of 

 the hairs are yellowish or whitish in contrast with the dark basal 

 part; general color yellowish brown, grayish or brownish yellow, 

 with an indistinct dorsal stripe and often a dim stripe on the side; 

 feet and legs often blackish ; hairs of neck long, forming a short 

 mane; hind legs longer than fore legs. 



The length of old males is about seven feet, sometimes 

 more, as Lewis and Clark record one measuring nine feet from 

 nose to end of tail. The ears are about three inches long, and 

 the tail only about two inches. The claws of the fore feet are 

 very long, five or six inches in adult males Females are smaller 

 than males. 



T\'pe locality. Montana. 



Grizzly Bears w^ere formerly common in California, but are 



