66 ANIMAL LIFE IX THE YO SEMITE 



The tracks of a bear are not likely to be mistaken for those of any other 

 animal. The toes and claws, of which there are five on each foot, all leave 

 distinct impressions in the soft earth of roads and trails, while the square 

 pad of the forefoot and the triangnlar-shaped heel pad of the hind foot 

 are both of distinctive character (pi. 22&). The track of the rear foot 

 resembles in appearance the print of a human foot. We have measured 

 hind-foot tracks which were 9 inches long, but the average length is con- 

 siderably less. 



Bears are adaptable creatures and profit by the presence of man in 

 several ways. They make much use of man-made trails, especially when 

 going up or down hill, and when doing so follow each turn and zig-zag 

 with remarkable fidelity. Their own trails are as distinctive in char- 

 acter as are their footprints. Through tracts of dense brush the openings 

 left are low — so low in fact that a man in traversing one of them must 

 stoop or crawl on his hands and knees. Then, too, each bear steps in 

 exactly the same place as the one which preceded him, literally "walking 

 in the footsteps of his predecessors," and if a bear comes into a trail of 

 this sort at some point along its course he adapts his tread to that of the 

 main trail. These traits are well shown in a trail through light snow, where 

 the tread of the animals crushes down and melts the snow where they 

 step, yet leaves the snow between the footprints undisturbed (pi. 22a). 



Black Bears usually have 2 cubs at a birth, but on June 19, 1910, the 

 junior author saw a black female with 3 black cubs near Camp Curry on 

 the floor of Yosemite Valley. In the account of the Grizzly killed by R. S. 

 Wellman there is mention of 3 Black Bear cubs with their dam, these being 

 actively abroad as late in the season as October 17. Sometimes a litter 

 consists of but a single cub. The earliest report of young out of the den 

 is that by Mr. 0. R. Prien who, during the week of April 29, 1916, saw 

 a female with 2 black cubs less than 18 inches long. The cubs of one 

 litter travel with the mother until she dens up for the following winter. 

 Mr. Gabriel Souvelewsky saw tracks of an old bear and two "good-sized" 

 cubs near Mirror Lake, on December 14, 1914. 



As regards food the Black Bear will eat anything and everything it 

 can lay its paws on. It is an omnivorous feeder in every sense of that word, 

 departing widely from the customs of most carnivorous animals in this 

 respect. In its natural environment our Yosemite bear eats various kinds 

 of seeds, fruits, and berries, including those of the coffee berry (Bhamnus 

 calif ornicus), green manzanita {Arctostaphylos patida), wild cherry 

 {Primus demissa), and poison oak (Rhus diversiloha) . Grasses, liliaceous 

 plants, and seed heads of various annuals are consumed. Carpenter ants 

 and other insects are taken in considerable numbers. In the vicinity of 

 human habitations it finds a wide choice of fare. It visits isolated or 



