NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 



123 



SYRIAN BEAR. 



young Alaskan Brown Bears which for some time we be- 

 lieved would prove to represent the species found on Kadiak 

 Island. In this belief they were for a time labeled as Ka- 

 diak Bears, (U. middendorfU) , and so entered provisionally 

 in previous editions of the Guide Book. The maturity of 

 the animals has proven that this supposition was erroneous. 

 The extremely short and thick muzzle of the adult male 

 proves conclusively that they are not identical with the 

 long-skulled species of Kadiak. This interesting pair, ab- 

 solutely identical in color with middciidorffi, are now iden- 

 tified, pending further revisions of our Urisdae, as Ursus 

 dalli. 



This species, and the two following, well represent the 

 group of big Alaskan Brown Bears, which are quite distinct 

 from the grizzlies and blacks. They are characterized by 

 their great size, high shoulders, massive heads, shaggy brown 

 pelage, and large claws. They live chiefly upon salmon, 

 which they catch from the small streams, but they also 

 devour great quantities of grass. 



The Peninsula Bear, (Ursus gyas), of Moeller Bay, well 

 down the Alaskan Peninsula, may at once be recognized 

 by its light brownish-yellow color, and its great size for a 

 bear born in 1904. Its claws are of enormous thickness. 



This animal is now beyond doubt one of the two largest 

 bears in captivity, his only rival being in the Zoological Park 

 at Washington. 



