254 NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS IN ALASKA. 



URSID^. 



Thalassarctos maeitimus (Linn.). Polar Bear (Esk. Nu'-nu-olc). 



Biographical notes. — As is well known, this species has a strictly maritime distribution. On 

 the mainland coast of Alaska it is almost unknown in summer, even along the extreme northern 

 shore. In winter it is rather common from the mouth of the Mackenzie Eiver to Bering Straits, 

 with the exception of Kotzebue Sound, where the unbroken character of the winter ice prevents it 

 from securing food. 



As the Arctic ice closes the sea north of Bering Straits in October and November large 

 numbers of Polar Bears are brought down on the floating pack and pass through the Straits with 

 the ice and reach Saint Lawrence and Saint Matthew Islands, where they are numerous all winter. 

 During severe winters, when the pack ice extends fiU'ther south than usual, a single specimen some 

 times reaches the Fur Seal Islands, but this is rare. On such seasons they reach the mainland 

 coast of the Territory south to the Yukon mouth, although they are extremely rare on the coast 

 south of the straits. 



In the summer of ISSO a half grown young Polar Bear was killed near Saint Michaels in 

 August, a very unusual occurrence; none had been killed there for many years. 



In spring the bears keep along the border of the pack ice and with it pass north through the 

 straits and into the Arctic ocean. Every season, however, large numbers of these animals remain 

 on Saint Matthew Island, where they appear to be permanent residents, as they are, to a much 

 smaller extent, on Saint Lawrence Island. 



During the summer of 1874 Mr. Elliott and Lieutenant Maynard found these bears extraor- 

 dinarily common on Saint Matthews, where Mr. Elliott estimates that there were several hundred 

 at the time of their visit in August. This island is only about 22 miles long and is very narrow. 

 It is essentially Arctic in its flora, the lowlands being covered with small flowering plants, grasses, 

 and mosses, while the hills and ridges are bare and rocky. As their boat approached Hall's Island, 

 just oft' Saint Matthews, sixteen of these bears were seen, ten of which were on the beach together. 

 The party from the vessel killed fifteen or twenty bears and were satisfied to leave the others 

 undisturbed. Tiie flesh of those killed was pronounced very good eating, perhaps owing to their 

 food being mainly vegetable matter at this time and so rendering the meat less rank than usual. 

 The bears were easily killed and did not show fight in a single instance, and as they were not at all 

 shy there was but little excitement in hunting them. They were fat aud were easily approached 

 to within a few yards when asleep, but if they scented the party they at once took flight toward 

 the hills at a good speed. AYhen surprised they arose and sniffed at the party as if curious to learn 

 whether they were friends or foes. This was on August 9, and the females aud cubs, usually two, 

 were by themselves. Small parties of three or four young males were scattered about and the old 

 males were found singly. One of the latter measured 8 feet from nose to tail and was estimated 

 to weigh from 1,000 to 1,200 ])ounds. The muscles of the fore-arm just back of the carpal joint 

 measured 24 inches after the skin was removed. The bears were "all eating grass aud roots, 

 digging or browsing, or else heavily sleeping on the hillsides." "Their manner of browsing is 

 very similar to the action of a hog engaged in grazing." Their well-beaten trails crossed the 

 island in every direction. 



The foregoing notes present this great bear in quite a different light from the fish and seal- 

 eating animal usually described, and the good condition of the bears obtained by this party showed 

 that they found an abundance of nutritious food on the almost barren slopes of the island. 



On the Siberian shore the southern limit of this species is in the vicinity of Plover Bay, just 

 opposite Saint Lawrence Island. On both shores of Bering Straits I found many white bear 

 skins among the Eskimo, which had been obtained in winter, and they were also numerous 

 among the natives along the north coast of Siberia. 



The Chukchis, of the North Siberian coast, hunt these bears with dogs and lance, precisely 

 as was the mode formerly in Greenland. 



