Kadiak Brown Bear 97 



of all. Dr. Gray described his so-called U. lasiotus in the following 

 words : " Black ; nose brownish. Ears covered externally with soit and 

 internally with long hairs, forming a projecting tutt. Fur elongate, form- 

 ing a large tuft on the throat." 



Dark rings round the eyes are noticeable in Mr. Sclater's figure. 



The range of this bear apparently extends from North Siberia to 

 Amurland and Kamchatka. An excellent account of the habits ot the 

 Kamchatkan bear will be found in Dr. F. H. H. Guillemard's Cruise of the 

 Tacht " Marchesay It is there stated that when, at certain seasons of the 

 year, the rivers of Kamchatka become almost choked by the swarms of the 

 northern salmon that ascend them, the bears come down to the banks to 

 prey upon the fish, which they scoop out of the water with their fore- 

 paws. 



THE KADIAK BROWN BEAR 



[JJrsus arctiis middendorjfi) 



The brown bear inhabiting Kadiak Island, Alaska, was named in 1896 

 by Dr. C. H. Merriam in the paper cited above (where it is regarded as a 

 distinct species), and appears to be the largest living representative ot its 

 tribe. It approaches very closely to the Kamchatkan brown bear, but is 

 of even larger dimensions. It is further distinguished by the much greater 

 elevation of the frontal region of the skull, which is highly arched and 

 relatively narrow, as well as by the proportionately greater width across 

 the (zygomatic) arches formed by the cheek-bones, and the shortness or 

 that portion of the skull situated behind the posterior roots ot those arches. 

 There appears to be no concavity at the root of the nasal bones ot the 

 skull ; and the great elevation of the skull seems to be most developed in 

 sub-adult examples. It is stated that in the adult female the skull is rela- 

 tively more elongated and the frontal region less elevated than in the male. 



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