108 CONSERVATION OP CANADIAN WILD LIFE 



ous character of this formidable animaL It is omnivorous 

 in its habits, and in the stomachs of specimens that have 

 been killed the remains of venison, seal, marmot, berries, 

 edible roots, and grass have been found, showing the varied 

 nature of the diet upon which it subsists. 



Black Bear {Ursus americanus) 

 (plate ix) 



Everywhere throughout the wooded regions of Canada, 

 from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, this, our most com- 

 mon and familiar bear, is to be found in greater or less 

 abundance. Its range is practically co-extensive with our 

 northern forests, for, unlike the aforementioned species of 

 bear, the black bear is essentially a forest species, and its 

 northward distribution is limited by the limit of forest 

 growth. The fur returns of the Hudson's Bay Company 

 would indicate that this species, in conmaon with the other 

 species of bears, shows a tendency exhibited by the other 

 fur-bearing animals to periodic increase and decrease in 

 abundance. The greatest number of skins was obtained by 

 the Hudson's Bay Company in 1889 and 1892, when about 

 11,500 were received annually, but, since 1900, the num- 

 bers have gradually declined, and in 1915 only 4,500 skins 

 were obtained. Nevertheless, no trip can be made into the 

 woods in any section of Canada without evidences or speci- 

 mens of this bear being encountered. It is a shy animal, 

 and for that reason it is less commonly seen than might 

 otherwise be expected. But its retiring habits are to its 

 advantage, and so long as the main evidence of its existence 

 in a region lies in the presence of its well-worn trails, claw- 

 marked trees, and overturned stones or rotting logs, it can- 

 not be considered an objectionable neighbour. Frequently 

 it would not be seen by travellers in the woods were it not 



