THE LARGER NORTH AMERICAN MAMMALS 



437 



climbed to the top of an ttptilted ice-pan and, 

 after looking about, lay down on one side and, 

 giving a push with one hind foot, slid down 

 head foremost 30 or 40 feet, striking the water 

 with a great splash. He then climbed out and 

 walked sedately away. 



Another bear saw a seal basking on the ice 

 by a large patch of open water and, swimming 

 across, suddenly raised himself half out of the 

 water to the edge of the ice, and by a blow of 

 his paw crushed the seal's skull. He then 

 climbed out and made a feast within 500 yards 

 of where the Corwin was anchored to the ice 

 pack. 



Once while we were anchored in a dense fog 

 several miles off the pack a bear came swim- 

 ming out to us, stopping every now and then 

 to raise its head high out of water to sniff the 

 attractive odors from the ship. Although 

 strong and tireless swimmers, these bears lack 

 the necessary speed to capture their prey in 

 the water. 



The female retires in winter to a snug den 

 among the hummocks on the sea ice, where 

 one or two naked cubs are born, which by the 

 time the ice begins to break up are ready to 

 follow the mother. Until the cubs are well 

 grown the mother cares for and defends them 

 with the most reckless disregard for her own 

 safety. On one occasion I saw a wounded 

 mother bear shield her cub, twice the size of a 

 Newfoundland dog, when bullets began to 

 strike the water about them, by swimming 

 straight away with the cub safely sheltered be- 

 tween her forelegs. 



The inaccessible character of so large a part 

 of the home of the polar bear will long pre- 

 serve it from the extermination that is over- 

 taking some of the land bears. 



BLACK BEAR (Ursus americanus and its 



subspecies) 



Numerous species of black bears varying in 

 size occur in North and South America and in 

 Asia. In North America a black bear, remark- 

 ably uniform in general appearance, but repre- 

 senting various geographic races and possibly 

 species, is generally distributed throughout the 

 forested areas from the borders of the Arctic 

 barrens, at the northern limit of trees, south 

 throughout the United States and down the 

 wooded Sierra Madre to Jalisco, Mexico, and 

 from Newfoundland on the east to Queen 

 Charlotte Island on the west. 



These bears are usually entirely black except 

 for a brown patch covering the muzzle and an 

 occasional white spot on the breast. Their 

 weight is variable, the largest ones exceeding 

 500 pounds, but they average much less. 



The cinnamon bear, so common in the West 

 and Northwest, long supposed to be a distinct 

 species, has proved to be merely a color phase 

 of the black bear — cinnamon cubs being born 

 in the same litters with black ones. 



Since the days of primitive man and the 

 great cave bear, the ways of bears have had a 

 fearsome interest to mankind. Childhood rev- 

 els in the delicious thrills of bear stories and 



dwells with wonder on the habit bears have of 

 standing upright like droll caricatures of man, 

 on the manlike tracks of their hind feet, and 

 on their fondness for sweets and other pala- 

 table food. 



From the landing of the first colonists on 

 our shores, hunters and settlers have encoun- 

 tered black bears so frequently that these are 

 among the best-known large forest animals of 

 the continent. During winter they hibernate 

 for months, seeking a hollow tree, a low cave, 

 the half shelter of fallen tree trunks and brush, 

 or else digging a den for themselves. The 

 female chooses a specially snug den, where in 

 midwinter from one to four cubs are born. 

 At birth the young, only 8 or 9 inches long, are 

 practically naked and have their eyes closed. 

 They are so undeveloped at this time that it 

 is more than a month before their eyes open 

 and more than two months before they can 

 follow their mother. 



Although powerful beasts, black bears are so 

 shy and timid that to approach them requires 

 the greatest skill on the part of a still hunter. 

 They only attack people when wounded or so 

 cornered that they must defend themselves or 

 their young. To safeguard themselves from 

 danger they rely mainly on a fine sense of 

 hearing and an exquisite delicacy of smell. 

 They have poor eyesight, and where a sus- 

 picious object is seen, but no sound or scent 

 can be noted, they sometimes rise on their 

 hind feet and look long and carefully before 

 retreating. 



To bears in the forest everything is game. 

 They often spend the entire day turning over 

 stones to lick up the ants and other insects 

 sheltered there, and at night may visit settlers' 

 cabins and carry off pigs. They raid the set- 

 tlers' cornfields for green corn and are pas- 

 sionately fond of honey, robbing bee trees 

 whenever possible. In season they delight in 

 wild cherries, blueberries, and other fruits, as 

 well as beechnuts, acorns, and pinyon nuts. 

 They are mainly nocturnal, but in districts 

 where not much disturbed wander widely by 

 dav. 



The success of black bears in caring for 

 themselves is well demonstrated by the num- 

 bers which still survive in the woods of Maine, 

 New York, and other long-settled States. 

 Their harmlessness and their exceeding interest 

 to all render them worthy of careful protec- 

 tion. They should be classed as game and 

 thoroughly protected as such except for cer- 

 tain open seasons. If this is done throughout 

 the country, as is now the case in certain 

 States, the survival of one of our most char- 

 acteristic large wild animals will be assured. 



GLACIER BEAR (Ursus emmonsi) 



When first discovered the glacier bear was 

 supposed to be a distinct and well-marked 

 species. Recently cubs representing the glacier 

 bear and the tvpical black bear have been 

 found in the same litter, thus proving it to be 

 merely a color phase of the black bear. Tts 

 color varies exceedingly, from a light smoky, 



