MAMMALS OF MARYLAND 



143 



303, March 1948) the estimate was down to 25; in 1951 (Inventory of 

 Big-Game Animals of the United States, 1950 and 1951, U.S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, Wildlife Leaflet 342, October 1952) to 20; and 

 by 1956 to 12. 



Bears are still occasionally seen in Allegany and Garrett Counties. 

 Theodore A. Bookhout, formerly with the University of Maryland's 

 Natural Kesources Institute, has informed me of several recent sight- 

 ings. In the fall of 1963, one was seen near Murley's Branch, a few 

 miles south of Flintstone, Allegany County ; in October 1963, one was 

 seen on Maryland Route 55, approximately 2 miles north of Cor- 

 riganville, Allegany County; on January 3, 1964, bear tracks were 

 seen on Wagner Road just north of Oldtown, Allegany County. 



As Mansueti (1950, p. 16) notes, however, western Maryland is 

 becoming more densely populated and the extensive forests are being 

 laid waste, and the black bear will disappear mainly because it is 

 unwanted. At most it will remain in only the most remote and inac- 

 cessible of Maryland wildlife sanctuaries. 



Family PROCYONIDAE (raccoons, coatis, etc.) 

 RACCOON 

 Procyon lotor lotor (Linnaeus) 



[Urstts] lotor Linnaeus, Syst. nat., ed. 10, 1 : 48, 1758. 



Procyon lotor mamtinms Dozier, J. Mammal., 29(3) : 286, August 

 1948. (Type locality : Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Dor- 

 chester County, Md.) 



Type locality. — Pennsylvania (fixed by Thomas, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, p. 

 140, March 1911). 



General distribution. — "Nova Scotia, southern New Brunswick, southern 

 Quebec, and southern Ontario, south through the eastern United States to North 

 Carolina from the Atlantic coast west to Lake Michigan, Indiana, southern Illi- 

 nois, western Kentucky and probably eastern Tennessee." (Goldman, 1950, p. 33.) 



Distribution in Maryland. — ^Common in all sections of the State, 

 but particularly abundant in the Eastern Shore section. 



Distinguishing characteristics. — Teeth 3/3, 1/1, 4/4, 2/2, = 40; 

 size medium; form robust; fur long and coarse; coloration of upper 

 parts grizzled gray, brownish, and blackish, there being considerable 

 individual variation; sides paler than upper parts; under parts dull 

 grayish brown, tinged with yellowish gray or white; black band, or 

 mask, extends through eyes and across cheeks; remainder of face 

 yellowish gray; tail alternately banded brownish gray or blackish 

 and yellow, with five to seven dark rings, always terminating in a 

 dark band. 



