Speaking of Bears 



43 



either mother or father. No wonder they turn to the Dudes and Sage- 

 brushers for kindness and candy ! 



It is strange indeed that the bears should prosper and increase in num 

 bers under these harsh conditions of 

 youth. But they do. They are increas- 

 ing so rapidly in Yellowstone that it is 

 becoming a problem to know how to 

 handle them all. Bears are sluggish, 

 easy-going creatures, but they are quick 

 to learn. The hold-up bears are an ex 

 ample. A few years ago a bear we called 

 Jesse James learned that by stopping 

 automobiles on the road he could be 

 fairly sure of a hand-out, some candy or 

 cookies, or food of some kind. Other 

 bears were quick to learn the same trick, 

 and now there are a score of hold-up bears in the park. 



One of the hold-up bears gave birth, not long ago, to two cubs which 

 were named Tom and Jerry, after due consideration by the rangers. 

 These cubs had the makings of two of the biggest rascals in the park. 

 They were full of fun, their antics always attracting the Dudes and the 

 Sagebrushers. The cubs learned the hold-up business when quite young, 

 and their business was so profitable that the mother bear stayed with 

 them the second summer, contrary to the usual custom. Apparently she 

 hesitated to part from her prosperous and successful offspring. We 

 wondered how long she would stay with them and whether Tom and 

 Jerry would stand by their mother, as all good young bears do in the 

 story-books but don't in the national parks. We were not long waiting 

 for an answer, for the next summer cub Jerry showed up with her own 

 cubs, and the rangers had hastily to change the name to Geraldine. 



In the spring, the park superintendents come in for considerable 

 criticism because of the unkempt appearance of the bears. Early one 

 season a woman visitor asked to be taken to see a bear. A ranger helped 

 her find one. The bear they located was as thin as a rail. His skin 

 seemed to hang like a big loose sack on him. One side of him was en 

 tirely without fur. The vermin got into it during the winter and ate it 

 off. One eye was closed. He was cross and mean. He certainly looked 

 like the morning after a terrible night out. The visitor was quite dis 

 gusted. 



"Well, when I want to see a bear next time, I shall go to Bronx Zoo," 

 she said. "We have bears that look like bears. This one looks like he had 

 three feet in the grave !" 



If she could have seen that same bear three months later, she would 



