106 CONSERVATION OF CANADIAN WILD LIFE 



great strength and tenacity of life in spite of repeated shots 

 into non-vital parts is very great. Only a direct hit in the 

 brain or spinal column will make approach to a wounded 

 animal really safe. 



In some locaUties the grizzly bear seems to prefer the 

 open country to the woods, and his chosen habitat is the 

 open and generally rocky mountain uplands of the divides, 

 where sparse timber, dense growth of thickets, and occa- 

 sional swamps furnish him with suitable environment. 



He frequents the open ground only through necessity — 

 the search for food. It is only for a month or two in the 

 summer that the male seeks the company of the female 

 bear. As long as they can secure food in the fall and win- 

 ter they do not go into hibernation. Grizzly bears are 

 largely carnivorous, provided they can secure animal food, 

 and they will eat anything from steers to mice. Nothing 

 is too small to escape the long claws of these animals, by 

 means of which they can pick the mountain berries, and 

 unearth succulent roots, and insects as small as ants. Be- 

 fore winter covers the mountains with snow they retire to 

 their winter quarters in some convenient cavity or natural 

 den in the rocks, or a den excavated in the mountainside, 

 and there in midwinter the female brings forth her small 

 cubs; usually two cubs are born, sometimes three, rarely 

 four. The small size of the newly born cubs of bears is one 

 of the striking features of these animals. The newly born 

 young of the grizzly bear usually measures only about eight 

 or nine inches in length, a remarkable size for the young of 

 an animal of which the adult male may weigh from 500 to 

 600 pounds. The cubs usually remain with the mother the 

 first year, but lead a separate existence thereafter. 



The most distinctive characters of the grizzly bear are 

 the high shoulder region, formed by a distinct hump, the 

 great length of the front claws, which are twice the length 

 of those of the hind feet, and the somewhat hollow facial 



