52 BIG GAME SHOOTING IN ALASKA chap. 



where they hibernate, yet they have never seen one which 

 was carrying cubs. It appears certain that the she -bears 

 drop their cubs whilst hibernating, and probably about the 

 month of February, although the exact date when the 

 event happens is not certain, nor is there anything to show 

 if this occurs with all bears at the same time of year. It is 

 the native belief that on the first occasion a she-bear usually 

 has only one cub, but that subsequently she has two, or 

 even three, at a birth. As a rule, in the spring the old bears 

 remain with their cubs in the neighbourhood of the caves 

 and hills where the cubs are born, and the following winter 

 the latter again hole up with their mother. 



I have myself seen cubs of more than a year old walking 

 with their mother in the months of June and July. It is a well- 

 known fact that the she-bear only breeds once in two years. 

 Although, according to the natives, a male and female bear 

 are often found hibernating in the same hole, it seems that 

 the males do not mate with the females until the early 

 spring. Then, as soon as they are strong enough after 

 leaving their winter quarters, they roam the hillsides in 

 search of a mate, and often indulge in sanguinary contests 

 with each other for the possession of some favourite 

 female. Most of the old males killed in the spring carry 

 numerous traces of these battles on their faces and legs. 

 I had a unique opportunity of watching the antics of two 

 bears on the Alaska Peninsula in the end of May, and it 

 was evident that these two had just paired. 



A remarkable fact is the splendid condition in which 

 these huge beasts emerge from their dens in the spring. 

 Although existing for months without food, and their only 

 form of amusement and sustenance being the licking of their 

 paws, they are rolling in fat, but at first very groggy on their 



