THE GAME RESOURCES OF ALASKA. 
479 
ment, often made, that they are the largest carnivorous animals in 
the world needs little if any qualification. They are confined almost 
exclusively to the coast region, ranging from Bering Sea throughout 
the Alaska Peninsula and some outlying islands and thence south 
along the Pacific coast nearly or quite to British Columbia. Many 
of the islands of the Alexander Archipelago are inhabited by them 
and also the near-by mainland. Their color varies greatly, ranging 
from dark seal brown to buffy brown, the feet, legs, and underparts 
usually being darker than the shoulders and back. Although the 
ends of the hairs are often paler than the bases the silver-tipped 
effect of the grizzlies is wanting. The front claws are shorter, 
thicker, and more abruptly curved than in the grizzlies. 
It is often said that the brown bears are less ferocious than the 
grizzlies, but the evidence is conflicting. Certainly they are more 
powerful and at close quarters correspondingly dangerous. They 
come out of hibernation early in the spring, usually in April. When 
the salmon begin to run they feed largely on them and on this ac¬ 
count have been called fish bears, or fish-eating bears, although other 
bears have the same habit. They eat a great variety of other'food, 
however, including kelp and shellfish secured about the mouths of 
streams and along tide flats, and also berries, roots, ground squirrels, 
and mice obtained on higher ground. 
The brown bears of Alaska will doubtless become very rare or ex¬ 
tinct at no very distant date. Such formidable carnivorous animals, 
even though not inclined to attack human beings, are commonly 
regarded as a menace to the safety of travelers and therefore unde¬ 
serving of protection. Already, they have become scarce on Kodiak 
Island where formerly very abundant, and on the Alaska Peninsula, 
though still fairly numerous, they are being killed at a rate probably 
greatly in excess of their increase. In the heavy forests of southeast 
Alaska and in the region of Mount St. Elias they may hold their own 
longer. 
The varieties of brown bears as at present classified are as follows: 
The Kodiak bear ( Ursus middendorffV) , inhabiting Kodiak Island; 
the Alaska Peninsula bear ( Ursus dalli gyas ), of the Alaska Penin¬ 
sula; the Yakutat bear ( Ursus dalli), of the vicinity of Yakutat Bay 
and the coast north and south for undetermined distances; the Sitka 
bear ( Ursus sitkensis) of Baranof Island; the Admiralty bear ( Ursus 
eulophus ), of Admiralty Island; and the Kidder bear ( Ursus kid- 
deri ), of the Alaska Peninsula. With the exception of the last 
three, which are smaller than the others and of uncertain relation¬ 
ships, all the brown bears are similar in general characters and ex¬ 
ternal appearance, the varietal distinctions being based mainly upon 
cranial characters obvious only to professional mammalogists. 
