220 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



losses to farmers and goat and sheep owners for damage done by 

 the bear. . . . This offer was not accepted. . . . 



"It is not known exactly how many bears there are in Norway. 

 . . . The greatest number are to be found in the tract Eastern 

 Hallingdal the Hemsedal mountains to Laerdal, where it is esti- 

 mated that there are from 15 to 25 bears. It is possible that there 

 are a few bears between Valdres and Gudbrandsal and in the central 

 part of Telemarken, but their number is uncertain. There are also 

 a few bears in the northern part of Norway which come from Swe- 

 den." (Julius Wadsworth, in litt., July 28, 1932.) 



"An area of about 125,000 acres north of the city of Lillehammer 

 has been privately set aside for the protection of the bear." Mr. 

 Platou "thinks the bears will now be preserved from extinction." 

 (Julius Wadsworth, in litt., May 9, 1933, and July 20, 1933) . 



Sweden. The bear was formerly found in all parts of the coun- 

 try, but in most of the provinces constituting Gotaland it had prac- 

 tically disappeared during the eighteenth century. ^ It has been 

 calculated that in the whole country 1,351 bears were killed during 

 the period 1827-1836, and 1,055 during the period 1847-1856. In 

 the 50-year period from 1856 to 1905, 2,762 bears were killed in 

 Sweden, including 86 in Wermland, 499 in Dalecarlia, 171 in Gavle- 

 borg, 144 in Westernorrland, 796 in Jemtland, 292 in Westerbotten, 

 and 770 in Norrbotten. The rapid decrease is illustrated by the 

 following statistics on the numbers killed in six of the above- 

 mentioned districts: 908 in 1856-1865; 434 in 1876-1885; 109 in 

 1896-1905. In olden times a small bounty was paid on each bear 

 killed, and in 1864 the amount was raised to 50 riksd. Sportsmen 

 and others objected to the bounty, and it was finally abolished in 

 1893. By that time the bears were greatly decimated and in most 

 provinces entirely exterminated. The building of railroads had con- 

 tributed decidedly to this decrease. After considerable agitation 

 for protection of the species, a new law of 1912 declared that no 

 bear could be shot on crown land without special permission from 

 the King, unless it had attacked man or domestic animals, nor on 

 private land without the permission of the owner. According to a 

 law of 1927, a bear killed anywhere belongs to the Crown. Com- 

 pensation for damage by bears is now provided by the state. The 

 whole sum thus paid for domestic animals (sheep, goats, reindeer, 

 and one horse) , during 1933 and 1934 did not amount to more than 

 2,404 kr. in all. Since the bears have been protected their numbers 

 have increased only a little. 



In considering the bear's economic status, it may be noted that 

 it never attacks man unless directly provoked or wounded. It preys 

 on domestic animals only exceptionally, and not regularly. Many 

 reindeer succumb to starvation and disease, and when the bear feeds 



