THE LARGER NORTH AMERICAN MAMMALS 



439 



almost bluish, gray to a dark iron gray, becom- 

 ing almost black. Some individuals are ex- 

 traordinary appearing beasts, quite unlike any 

 other bear. The interest in this curious color 

 development is increased by its restricted dis- 

 tribution. 



The glacier bear is an Alaskan animal, which 

 occupies the seaward front of the Mount St. 

 Elias Range, about Yakutat Bay, and thence 

 southeast to Glacier Bay and a short distance 

 beyond toward the interior. The popular name 

 of this bear was well chosen, as its home is in 

 the midst of innumerable stupendous glaciers. 

 Here, where the contours of gigantic mountain 

 ranges are being steadily remade by glaciers, 

 Nature appears to have begun the evolution of 

 a new kind of bear. That the task is in prog- 

 ress is evidenced by the excessive variation in 

 color, scarcely two individuals being the same. 



The food of this bear consists largely of 

 mice, ground squirrels, and marmots, which it 

 digs from their burrows on the high mountain 

 slopes. Its food is varied by salmon during 

 the spawning season and by various herbs and 

 berries during the summer. The winters in the 

 home of the glacier bear are less severe than 

 across the range in the interior, but are so 

 long and stormy that the bear must spend 

 more than six months each year in hibernation. 



Owing to the remote and little-frequented 

 region occupied by this bear, little is known of 

 its life history. For this reason it is impor- 

 tant that all sportsmen visiting its country 

 bring back careful and detailed records of their 

 observations. Up to the present time so few 

 white men have killed glacier bears that a skin 

 of one taken by fair stalking is a highly prized 

 trophy. As the glacier bear country becomes 

 more accessible, more stringent protection will 

 be needed to prevent the extermination of these 

 unique animals. 



GRIZZLY BEAR (Ursus horribilis and its 

 relatives) 



Recent research has shown that the popular 

 terms grizzly or silver-tip cover a group con- 

 taining numerous species of large bears pecu- 

 liar to North America, some of which, espe- 

 cially in California, have become extinct within 

 the last 25 years. These bears vary much in 

 size, some about equaling the black bear and 

 others attaining a weight of more than 1,000 

 pounds. They vary in color from pale dull 

 buffv to nearly black, usually with lighter tips 

 to the hairs, which produce the characteristic 

 grizzled or silver - tipped appearance upon 

 which the common names are based. 



The strongest and most distinctive external 

 character of the grizzlies is the long, propor- 

 tionately slender, and slightly curved claws on 

 the front feet, sometimes more than 3 inches 

 long. 



Grizzly bears have a wide range — from the 

 Arctic coast of Alaska southward, _ in a belt 

 extending from the Rocky Mountains to the 

 Pacific, through western Canada and_ the 

 United States, and thence along the Sierra 



Madre of Mexico to southern Durango. They 

 also occupy the barren grounds of northern 

 Canada, and vague reports of a large brown 

 bear in the interior of the Peninsula of Labra- 

 dor indicate the possibility of the existence 

 there of an unknown species of grizzly. 



From the days of the earliest explorers of 

 the Rocky Mountain region grizzly bears have 

 borne the undisputed title of America's fiercest 

 and most dangerous big game. In early days, 

 having little fear of the primitive weapons of 

 the Indians, they were bold and indifferent to 

 the presence of man, and no higher badge of 

 supreme courage and prowess could be gained 

 by a warrior than a necklace of grizzly claws. 

 Since the advent of white men with guns, 

 conditions have changed so adversely to the 

 grizzlies that they have become extremely shy, 

 and the slightest unusual noise or other alarm 

 causes them to dash away at a lumbering, but 

 surprisingly rapid, gallop. The deadly modern 

 gun has produced this instinctive reaction for 

 self-preservation. It does not mean, however, 

 that grizzlies have lost their claim to the re- 

 spect of even the best of hunters. They are 

 still considered dangerous, and even in recent 

 years experienced hunters have been killed or 

 severely mauled by them. They are much 

 more intelligent than the black bear, and thus, 

 when wounded, are a more dangerous foe. 



Like the black bear, the grizzlies are com- 

 monly nocturnal, but in remote districts often 

 wander about in search of food by day. They 

 roll over stones and tear open rotten wood in 

 search of grubs and insects. They also dig out 

 ground squirrels and other rodents and eat a 

 variety of acorns and other wild nuts and 

 fruits: As an offset to this lowly diet, many 

 powerful old grizzlies, from the Rock}- Moun- 

 tains to California, have become notorious 

 cattle-killers. They stalk cattle at night, and, 

 seizing their prey by the head, usually break 

 its neck, but sometimes hold and kill it by 

 biting. These cattle-killing grizzlies still occur 

 on the Western ranges. One or more wily 

 marauders of this kind have run for years 

 with a bounty of $1,000 on their heads. 



Like other bears, grizzlies hibernate in win- 

 ter, seeking small caves, or other shelter, and 

 sometimes digging a den in the ground. The 

 young, from one to four in number, are born 

 in midwinter and are very small, naked, and 

 but partly developed at birth. They go about 

 with the mother throughout the summer and 

 commonly den up with her the following win- 

 ter. Although full-grown grizzlies are ordi- 

 narily solitary in habits, parties of from four 

 to eight are sometimes seen. The object of 

 these curious but probably brief companion- 

 ships is not known. 



Grizzlies are disappearing so rapidly that it 

 is very desirable that they be placed on the list 

 of game protected during part of the year, ex- 

 cept in the case of the few individuals which 

 become stock-killers. They are among the 

 finest of native animals and their absence from 

 the rugged slopes of the western mountains 

 would leave a serious gap in our wild life. 



