THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 275 

THE LITTLE BEAR WONDER OF OREGON 
By Guy M. INGRAM, Lakeview, Oregon. 
O ONE has yet named him, so we will call him ‘‘Teddy’’ for the 
N present, believing that in the near future naturalists will probably 
find a more appropriate name, and, it is presumed, will be able 
to tell us something of his kind. 
Teddy was a real bear, full grown, little larger than a badger, only 
weighing 23 pounds when killed. 
The home of this species of bear is in the lava beds near Fossil Lake, 
well out on the Oregon desert. It is in this region that the unmistakable 
bones of many extinct animals are found, such as the three-toed horse, 
mastodon, etc. This country is all of volcanic origin, but appears to be 
far more recent than of any other locality in the West; hence, it is logical 
to assume that these wonderful animals (not Teddy, but others even 
more wonderful) made their last stand here at a time of the last great 
voleanic eruption in the West. 
Teddy is not the only bear of his kind killed on the desert, but sev- 
eral others have been taken, all of which were taken by inexperienced 
people and thought to be cubs. Only last winter a woman with a few 
traps set for small animals near her home at Alkali Lake caught one 
of these bears. 
There are many rumors prevalent in Lakeview about this wonderful 
little animal, concerning his existence and appearance in this great 
desert country, most of which are poorly supported. 
This sort of bear may be of a distinct specie, and he may not. I 
am not now in possession of any authentic natural history, but am told 
by Deputy State Game Warden Harry Gray, of Lakeview, that this sort 
of bear is mentioned by some authority as having become extinct. My 
theory is that the lineage of this bear will be traced back to the com- 
mon black or brown bear of the Cascades. Possibly many years ago a 
