322 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA [No. 55 



general section as harboring 910 black bears, a fairly generous supply 

 for even this extensive area of wild rough land. The dense cover of 

 forest and undergrowth of the Coast Ranges has not only furnished 

 protection but abundance of choice food for bears, so for actual num- 

 bers they have been less destructive to livestock ? sheep, and pigs 

 than in the more arid parts of the State where at times food becomes 

 scarce. 



Hibernation*. In the late fall or early winter the bears generally 

 become very fat, and in the mountains go into hibernation after the 

 first deep snow in some cave, hollow tree, or log, or burrow under a 

 log or brush pile, or in any secluded place. In the Fort Klamath 

 country Harry Telford said they had not yet emerged from hiberna- 

 tion on March 9, 1914. In the mild climate of the coastal slopes 

 the bears apparently hibernate for only short and irregular periods 

 during the coldest weather and may be found active at any season 

 of the year. To what extent they become torpid is not well known, 

 but the rest period seems generally to be utilized, even where the 

 weather conditions do not make it necessary. 



Breeding habits. Apparently the breeding season varies somewhat 

 over the State. J. C. Warner killed an old female bear near Myrtle 

 Point in Coos County on February 28, 1914, and took her two cubs, 

 only a few days old. He fed them on the bottle until their eyes 

 opened, after 6 days (Oreg. Sportsman 2 (4) : 8, 1914). 



On February 14, 1914, Alva Addington killed an old female black 

 bear with two cubs. Their eyes were not yet open (ibid). 



Apparently the breeding season is later or less regular in the 

 coast country than in the mountains where hibernation begins at an 

 earlier date. 



Food habits. Few carnivores are more nearly omnivorous than 

 bears. Their food consists largely of berries, roots, green vegeta- 

 tion, bark, acorns, nuts, grain, insects, crayfish, fish, small animals, 

 or the meat of any animal they can catch, kill, or find dead. On 

 emerging from their winter dens in the mountains before the snow 

 has all gone they apparently fill their empty stomachs with dead 

 grass, leaves, pine needles, or anything filling, without regard to 

 food value. Then there is a vigorous search for carcasses of animals 

 that have died during the winter, or have been preserved under the 

 snow from the previous year's hunting or trapping season. Often 

 this supply carries them up to the sprouting time of new plants or 

 until roots, insects, and rodents can be dug from the ground to yield 

 a food supply until the first berries are ripe. 



Thistles, cow-parsnip, hellebore, skimkcabbage, flower stalks of 

 beargrass (XerophyUum tenax), camas bulbs, wild onions, and the 

 inner bark of pines, spruce, balsam, tamarack, and hemlock all con- 

 tribute to their summer food as shown by their droppings and the 

 traces of food along their trails. These bears are especially fond 

 of blueberries, salal, blackberries, raspberries, salmonberries, cascara 

 berries, elderberries, and apparently all sweet fruits. A. G. Ames 

 reports apples, mushrooms, pea vines, and grass in a number of 

 stomachs examined. In autumn they feed extensively on acorns and 

 any nuts, seeds, or grain they can find. They also dig out fat ground 

 squirrels that have denned up for the winter and transfer the store 

 of fat from the squirrels to their own supply. Where salmon or 



