NORTH AMERICA AND THE WEST INDIES 151 



are neither so great nor so constant as at one time believed. 

 And there are species which in the present state of knowledge 

 can not be positively referred to either group." The color of 

 the brown bears is more uniform with less of the surface 

 grizzling, the shorter claws are scurfy instead of smooth, the 

 skull more massive. The brown bears are in general confined 

 to the southern Alaskan coast and peninsula and the adjacent 

 islands. (See Dufresne, 1942, for distribution map.) 



In 1912 Sheldon wrote that "the grand bear of Kadiak 

 Island ... is rarely seen." Osgood (1904), writing of 

 the big brown bears of the base of the Alaska Peninsula, says 

 that though formerly abundant persistent hunting by the 

 natives has much reduced their numbers. They still occur in 

 many localities but have become extremely shy. Fifteen 

 years previously it was not uncommon to see "from eight to 

 fifteen bears scattered about on one mountain side." Their 

 period of activity varies, but they usually come out from hiber- 

 nation late in March or early in April, depending on the season, 

 and are not seen after early November. The young are brought 

 forth usually in January and may number as many as four at 

 a birth, though, as with the other grizzlies, two is the usual 

 number and three not uncommon. Ground squirrels are much 

 sought after by digging up their burrows, but when salmon are 

 entering the rivers in spring they become a main object of 

 pursuit. Small fruits, roots, and grasses also form part of 

 their fare. 



Although these bears a few years ago seemed in much danger 

 of extirpation, present reports indicate that under the game 

 laws that went into effect in 1925, and with the creation of 

 sanctuaries, the outlook is bright that they will remain an 

 asset to Alaska for a long while to come. Dufresne, the execu- 

 tive officer of the Alaska Game Commission, reported in 1938 

 that they are holding their own and that "information from 

 Kodiak Island and the Alaska peninsula . . . leaves no 

 question as to the plenitude of the huge brown bears." A 

 favorable attitude on the part of Alaskan residents, who are 

 beginning to realize the value of the bears to themselves 

 through bringing in a certain number of hunters and photogra- 

 phers, is doing much to insure proper protection and regulation 

 of the numbers killed. For the present it appears that these 

 splendid bears are no longer in danger of being exterminated. 



