316 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 



of eastern Asia and to the extinct cave bears of Europe. Several 

 species of the great Alaskan brown bears are shown in the park. One 

 kept for several years weighed at one time 1,160 pounds. 



There are splendid examples of the Kadiak bear (Ursus midden- 

 dorjji) ; the Peninsula bear (U. gyas) ; the Yakutat bear (U. dalli), 

 and Kidder's bear ( U. hidden) of Cook Inlet. 



The grizzty bear (Ursus horribilis) is perhaps the most cele- 

 brated of all the bears and has the greatest reputation for strength 

 and ferocity. In the early days of the West the grizzly was very 

 plentiful, and no story of adventure in that region was complete 

 unless it introduced the " silver tip " at some point in the tale. Nowa- 

 days grizzly bears are rare or completely exterminated over most of 

 their former range in the United States, but are still found in the 

 Yellowstone National Park, from which place most of our specimens 

 come. In the Rocky Mountains of Canada, and particularly in 

 British Columbia, grizzly bears are commonly found. Numerous 

 species and subspecies of grizzlies are now recognized. 



The common black bear of North America (Ursus amerlcanus) 

 has a very extensive distribution from Alaska to Florida; a number 

 of geographical races are recognized within this area. This animal 

 has persistently held its own in some of the more settled States, and, 

 like the white-tailed deer, with proper protection is in little danger 

 of extermination. The cinnamon bear, a color phase of the black 

 bear, is of most frequent occurrence in certain parts of the West where 

 a geographical race of the common bear is recognized as Ursus 

 amerlcanus cinnamomum. 



One of the rarest of all the bears is the glacier bear, or blue bear 

 (Ursus emrrwnsii) of the Mount St. Elias Alps, Alaska. It has a 

 beautiful coat of a blue-gray color. The first living specimen of 

 this interesting American mammal ever exhibited in any zoological 

 garden was received at the National Zoological Park in 1917 as a 

 gift from Mr. Victor J. Evans, of Washington, District of Columbia, 

 who secured it from a resident of Yakutat, Alaska. It was captured 

 as a small cub by Indians about the middle of May, 1916, at the 

 head of Disenchantment Bay. The only specimens ever received be- 

 fore this time were a few skins, mostly obtained by fur traders, and 

 several skulls which have found their way into museums. 



The Himalayan bear (Ursus thibetanus) , the sloth bear (Melursus 

 ursinus), and the sun bear (Helarctos malayamus) are among the 

 foreign bears exhibited. 



SEALS AND SEA LIONS 



The common harbor seal of the Atlantic coast (Phoca vitulina) 

 is the typical species of a large group of " hair seals " inhabiting the 

 ocean of the Northern Hemisphere. It has a wide distribution and is 



