Bears appear to be of Old World origin. Fossils tell of their existence
in Asia eons ago. The first bear emigrants perhaps landed in Alaska more
than a million years ago. They may have come over on one of the land
bridges which have at times connected Asia and America.
"In the Old World, bears were first distinguishable in the Upper
Miocene, and may there be traced back to forms which were unmistakably
derivatives of the early dogs," says Mr. William B. Scott in "A History
of Land Mammals in the Western Hemisphere."
It is interesting that bears, dogs, and seals descended from a common
ancestor. Seals have been called "sea bears." The bear lives for a long
period each year without either food or drink. During this period he
lies dormant. The seal has the habit of doing without food and drink and
also sleep for weeks while leading an active life. The bear and the dog
are alike in many ways. Both accept domestication readily and both
become loyal and intimate associates of man. Many of their ways in play
are alike, and each has the habit of sometimes becoming restless in his
home locality and traveling afar for adventure.
In North America bears have branched out into numerous species, and here
they have attained their greatest development. South America has,
perhaps, only one small species, and Africa only one. Europe and Asia
combined are accredited with having eight species.
The grizzly is distributed over the western half of North America, from
northern Alaska far down into Mexico. His home is more generally in the
mountains. He is also found in the barren lands of Canada, in the Bad
Lands of the Upper Missouri, and in the western margin of the Great
Plains. On a number of the wilderness islands of the Alaskan and
Northwest Coast, where he is of unusually large size, he forms a
numerous population.
The similarity of the mental processes and the customs of the various
species of Alaskan bears has been remarked upon by many people. Mr.
Charles Sheldon, the hunter-scientist, says:--
"Nothing is more striking than the general similarity in nature,
actions, appearance, and habits of both the brown bears of the humid
coast region of Alaska and the grizzlies of the dry interior. The
several species of both the coast and inland bears differ more or
less widely in size, anatomy, color, and claws, but no one can
observe them in their natural habitats without realizing that all
have descended from a common ancestor."
The little that I have seen of the polar bear suggests to me that he may
be related to the grizzly. It is interesting that the coats of the polar
bear are uniformly white, while those of the grizzly are of assorted
colors.
The grizzly is scattered over a vast and varied range, feeds on a
variety of food, and is divided into numerous species and subspecies,
but he ever runs true to character, everywhere is one hundred per cent
grizzly. The chief points of dissimilarity in the different species are
the shape of the skull and the character of the teeth. Rarely is there
any difference apparent in the living animals; the classification is
determined chiefly from the teeth and the formation of the skull.
Color is no clue to the species. Color may vary as much in one species,
or even in one litter of cubs, as in different species widely separated
as to locality. Assemble a number of grizzlies representing each of the
many species and subspecies, and there will be a bewildering array of
fur coats, perhaps no two alike. However, as I have said, the grizzly's
characteristics are ever the same, no matter what the color of his coat
or where he lives. Wherever you see a grizzly,--on the glaciers of
Alaska, on the desert sands of Mexico, or fishing in the Columbia,--he
seems as much the same old acquaintance as the bluebird who comes each
spring.
The color of the species runs through many shades of brown: among them
are cream, tan, mouse-color, cinnamon, and golden yellow. Black or
almost white may be the fur of the grizzly, but shades of gray and brown
predominate. Infrequently a grizzly is seen with a coat of more than one
color. This variety of color causes confusion concerning species, but
within the bounds of the United States, outside of Alaska, there are
virtually only two kinds of bear, the black and the grizzly, though
these are divided by naturalists into many species and subspecies
according to the arrangement and forms of their teeth and the bones of
the head. Cinnamon and brown are common colors of both grizzlies and
black bears.
[Illustration: GRIZZLY BEAR GROUP IN COLORADO MUSEUM OF NATURAL
HISTORY, DENVER]
The fur of the grizzly, like any fur, is composed of a fine, thick
fleece lining and long, coarse hairs which project from it. The under
fur may be of any color, but the hairs that project through this are, I
believe, invariably dark with a silver tip. Commonly the fur is long and
shaggy on the grizzly's flanks and shoulders.
The grizzly is from six to seven feet long and in contour is pointed in
front, and heavy, though well-rounded, behind. His shoulders are high.
The body of the grizzly is longer, straighter along the back line, and
less humped on the haunches than the black bear's. The grizzly's head is
narrower, the jaws and nose longer and less blunt, than the black's.
The grizzly always appears larger than he really is. The average weight
is between three hundred and fifty and six hundred pounds; males weigh a
fourth more than females. Few grizzlies weigh more than seven hundred
pounds, though exceptional specimens are known to have weighed more than
one thousand. Adams gave the weight of "Samson," a California grizzly,
as fifteen hundred pounds, and a few Alaskan grizzlies, judging by
their skins, may have weighed more than "Samson." It may be that years
ago, when not so closely hunted, the grizzly lived longer and grew to a
larger size than he attains to-day.
The grizzly looks capable and substantial. His massive proportions
suggest strength rather than bulk. With back broad and well-rounded, and
feet pulled well together beneath him, he may at first appearance seem
top-heavy. But this impression is forgotten the instant his movements
display his ease of adjustment and nicety of balance. Without effort he
raises himself on hind legs to his full height gracefully and stands
with the repose of a statue.
Many of his movements appear awkward and clumsy. He is loose-jointed and
sometimes is rather lumbering; he often shuffles as though wearing a
large, loose wooden shoe on each foot. Commonly he travels along with a
gait neither walk nor trot. Yet the bear is exceedingly speedy and few
horses can overtake him. His endurance is astounding.
He has extraordinary strength. I have known him to drag the carcass of a
cow or a steer of twice his own weight. In several instances this was
dragged up the mountain-side over fallen logs, yet it was apparently
moved without extraordinary effort.
The grizzly is exceptionally expert and agile with his paws. With either
fore paw he can strike like a sledge-hammer or lift a heavy weight. He
boxes or strikes with lightning-like rapidity. Most grizzlies are
right-handed; that is, the right fore paw is most used. If a small
object is to be touched or moved, he will daintily use but one claw. The
black bear would use the entire paw.
The fore-foot prints made by the grizzly are much shorter than the
tracks made by his hind feet. His hind foot leaves a track similar to
the bare-footed track of a man, while the track of the fore foot has the
appearance of the grizzly's having walked upon the front of his
foot,--the ball and toes,--with the heel upraised. The fore claws are
from two to five inches long, the hind claws much shorter.
The fore ankles of the grizzly are smaller than the black bear's, the
hind feet relatively larger; the claws are much longer and less curved.
The grizzly's claws do not curve as sharply downward as a black's, but
the claw-points extend well beyond the ends of the toes. The black's
curved claws are much used in climbing; the grizzly's claws are used
mostly for digging.
The largest grizzly-track that I have measured was slightly more than
thirteen inches long, and seven and one half inches wide at the widest
point. These measurements did not include the claw-marks. In places
where this bear had slipped on snowy or muddy ground the track with
claw-marks was of most formidable appearance. Many of the big Alaskan
grizzlies have large feet, sometimes making a track eighteen inches in
length. However, in the Rocky Mountains I have seen a large track that
had been made by a comparatively small bear. More than once I have seen
bears weighing less than four hundred pounds whose feet were larger than
those of other bears who weighed upwards of six hundred pounds. A large
grizzly bear track does not necessarily indicate that it is the track of
a large bear.
There is marked difference in the ordinary ways of the black and the
grizzly. The grizzly is energetic, thorough, works hard, and takes life
rather seriously; while the black bear is lazy, careless, does no more
work each day than is necessary, and is more playful. The grizzly's
hibernating-den is usually a substantial, complete affair, while that of
the black bear is more or less of a makeshift. The black bear likes to
play with other bears, while the grizzly enjoys playing alone. The black
climbs a tree easily and often sleeps in a tree-top; the grizzly bear
rarely climbs after he passes cubhood.
Most of the time the grizzly is silent. When he does say anything it is
in a queer, but expressive, language. He utters a choppy champ of a
cough; he says "Woof," "Woof," with various accents; he growls
eloquently; he grunts and he sniffs. The youngsters say something like
"Eu-wow-wow," and when forlorn give an appealing cry I cannot translate
into words.
Little is known concerning the mating-habits of wild grizzly bears. The
majority of authorities maintain that mating takes place in June and
July, while a few believe that it occurs late in the autumn. The few
times that I have seen males and females together were in late June and
July.
Although known to the white race only a little more than a century, the
grizzly has been a part of the life and legends of the Indians for
countless generations. Often feared, frequently admired, his brain and
brawn are featured again and again; he is always the acknowledged chief
and master of the wilderness.
Many are the names that he carries: grizzly bear, silver-tip, white
bear, bald-face, cinnamon bear, roach-back, range bear, and others.
The first printed mention of the grizzly that I know of is one by Edward
Umfreville, who, in writing concerning Hudson's Bay in 1790, mentions
the "Grizzle Bear." In 1795 Sir Alexander MacKenzie writes of the
"Grisly Bear." But the grizzly was given a definite place in history
when Lewis and Clark mentioned him in their Journal, in April, 1805, as
the "white bear." Much that they wrote was made public, and the bear's
career started, by Governor DeWitt Clinton in an address before the
Literary and Philosophical Society of New York, May 4, 1814.
As is shown by Guthrie's Geography, George Ord, the naturalist,
described and first classified the grizzly as _Ursus horribilis_, in
1815. This was from information which Brackenridge had gathered, chiefly
from the Journal of Lewis and Clark, and was based on the "white bear"
of the type locality of the Missouri River a little above the mouth of
Poplar River, northeastern Montana.
Dr. C. Hart Merriam is the supreme authority concerning bears. Following
I give his classification of the grizzly and big brown bears, together
with quotations from his introduction to "North American Fauna, No. 41"
(1918):--
"REVIEW OF THE GRIZZLY AND BIG BROWN BEARS OF NORTH AMERICA (_Genus
Ursus_)
"WITH DESCRIPTION OF A NEW GENUS VETULARCTOS
"When Audubon and Bachman published their great work on the Mammals
of North America (1846-1854), and in fact up to the year 1857, it
was commonly believed by naturalists as well as by hunters and the
public generally that there was only a single species of grizzly
bear--the one described by Lewis and Clark in 1804-5, and named
_Ursus horribilis_ by Ord in 1815. Baird, in 1857, described another
species, from Coppermines, New Mexico, which he named _Ursus
horriæus_.
"Nearly forty years later, in my 'Preliminary Synopsis of the
American Bears,' eight grizzlies and big brown bears were
recognized, of which five were described as new. It was not then
suspected that the number remaining to be discovered was anything
like so great as has since proved to be the case. The steady influx
of specimens resulting from the labors of the Biological Survey,
supplemented by the personal efforts of a number of
hunter-naturalists, brought to light many surprises, most of which
have been published; and beginning in the spring of 1910, a fund
placed at my disposal made it possible to offer hunters and trappers
sufficient inducement to tempt them to exert themselves in securing
needed specimens. As a result, the national collection of bears has
steadily grown until, in number of species represented, in
completeness of series, and in number of type specimens, it now far
excels all other collections in the world together.
"Nevertheless there are many gaps in the series. Knowledge of the
big bears is by no means complete and many years must pass before
the last word on the subject will be written. Many bears now roaming
the wilds will have to be killed and their skulls and skins sent to
museums before their characters and variations will be fully
understood and before it will be possible to construct accurate
maps of their ranges. Persons having the means and ambition to hunt
big game may be assured that bears are still common in many parts of
British Columbia, Yukon Territory, and Alaska, and that much
additional material is absolutely required to settle questions still
in doubt....
"Some writers have advanced the view that the various species of
bears freely interbreed. Let those so minded ask themselves the
question, If promiscuous interbreeding were to take place, what
would become of the species? From the nature of the case, the
stability of species depends on the rarity of crossings with other
species, for if interbreeding were to take place frequently the
species so interbreeding would of course cease to exist, having
merged into a common hybrid. Hybrids now and then occur,
particularly in zoölogical gardens, but among wild animals in their
native haunts they are exceedingly rare.
"The number of species here given will appear to many as
preposterous. To all such I extend a cordial invitation to visit the
National Museum and see for themselves what the bear skulls show.
Recognition of species is a matter of interpretation. If the
material is adequate there can be little room for difference of
opinion; if inadequate, many important points must remain in doubt.
It is not the business of the naturalist either to create or to
suppress species, but to endeavor to ascertain how many Nature has
established, and having discovered this, to point out their
characters and learn as much as possible about them.
"One of the unlooked-for results of the critical study of the
American bears is the discovery that the big bears, like mice and
other small mammals, split up into a large number of forms whose
ranges in some cases overlap so that three or more species may be
found in the same region.
"Another surprising result is the discovery that Admiralty Island in
Southwestern Alaska appears to be inhabited by no less than five
distinct species, each of which is obviously related to and
representative of an adjacent mainland species....
"SEXUAL DIFFERENCES
"In most species of bears the males are much larger than the
females. In some the disparity in size is very remarkable, as in
_middendorffi_ of Kodiak Island and _magister_ of southern
California. In a few cases the difference is slight, as in
_kidderi_ of Alaska Peninsula.
"AGE DIFFERENCES
"Bear skulls undergo a series of changes from early life to old age,
and in most species do not attain their mature form until seven or
more years of age. In species having the frontal shield highly
elevated, as in _middendorffi_, _kluane_, _stikeenensis_, and
_mirabilis_, the frontals reach their maximum of arching or bulging
in early adult life (about the sixth year), after which they
gradually become flatter....
"CLASSIFICATION OF GRIZZLY AND BIG BROWN BEARS
"The differences formerly supposed to exist between the grizzlies
and the big brown bears appear, in the light of the material now
available, to distinguish certain groups of species from certain
other groups, rather than the grizzlies collectively from the big
brown bears collectively. In other words, the differences between
the grizzlies on the one hand and the big brown bears on the other
are neither so great nor so constant as at one time believed. And
there are species which in the present state of knowledge cannot be
positively referred to either group. In fact, it seems at least
possible that certain species which appear to belong with the
grizzlies are closely related to certain other species which clearly
belong with the big brown bears. The typical brown bears differ from
the typical grizzlies in peculiarities of color, claws, skull, and
teeth. The color of the former is more uniform, with less of the
surface grizzling due to admixture of pale-tipped hairs; the claws
are shorter, more curved, darker, and scurfy instead of smooth; the
skull is more massive; the fourth lower premolar is conical, lacking
the sulcate heel of the true grizzlies. But these are average
differences, not one of which holds true throughout the group. Most
of the specimens in museums consist of skulls only, unaccompanied by
skins or claws, leaving a doubt as to the external characters; and
in old bears the important fourth lower premolar is likely to be so
worn that its original form cannot be made out. And, worst of all,
some of the grizzlies lack the distinctive type of premolar, leaving
only the skull as a guide to their affinities. The present
classification, therefore, must be regarded as tentative and subject
to revision....
"The present paper is merely a review of the existing state of
knowledge of the grizzlies and big brown bears of America and does
not include either the polar or the black bears. It is not intended
as a monographic revision, but aims to supply a list of the species,
together with descriptions and comparisons of adult skulls, chiefly
males. Little is said of external characters, for the reason that
little is known, only a few skins with claws being available for
study.
"LIST OF SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES OF GRIZZLY AND BIG BROWN BEARS, WITH
TYPE LOCALITIES.[1]
[Footnote 1: "Nearly 130 years ago Prof. Zauschner proposed the name
_Ursus saribur_ for an animal 'from the region of Canada' (Bestimmung
der Hundsart Krokute, und der Bärenart Saribur, p. 8, 1788), but the
species appears to be impossible of identification."]
(_Classification provisional._)
_Horribilis_ group:
_Ursus horribilis horribilis_ Ord Missouri River, northeastern
Montana.
_horribilis bairdi_ Merriam Blue River, Summit County,
Colorado.
_horribilis imperator_ Merriam Yellowstone National Park,
Wyoming.
_chelidonias_ nobis Jervis Inlet, British Columbia.
_atnarko_ nobis Atnarko River, British Columbia.
_kwakiutl_ Merriam Jervis Inlet, British Columbia.
_nortoni_ Merriam Southeastern side Yakutat
Bay, Alaska.
_warburtoni_ Merriam Atnarko River, British Columbia.
_neglectus_ Merriam Near Hawk Inlet, Admiralty
Island, Southeastern Alaska.
_californicus_ Merriam Monterey, California.
_tularensis_ Merriam Fort Tejon, California.
_colusus_ Merriam Sacramento Valley, California.
_dusorgus_ nobis[2] Jack Pine River, Alberta-British
Columbia boundary.
_Planiceps_ group:
_Ursus nelsoni_ Merriam Colonia Garcia, Chihuahua,
Mexico.
_texensis texensis_ Merriam Davis Mountains, Texas.
_texensis navaho_ Merriam Navajo country near Fort
Defiance, Arizona. (Probably
Chuska Mts.)
_planiceps_ nobis Colorado (exact locality
uncertain).
_macrodon_ nobis Twin Lakes, Colorado.
_mirus_ nobis Yellowstone National Park,
Wyoming.
_eltonclarki_ Merriam Near Freshwater Bay, Chichagof
Island, Alaska.
_tahltanicus_ Merriam Klappan Creek ( = Third
South Fork Stikine River),
British Columbia.
_insularis_ Merriam Admiralty Island, Alaska.
_orgilos_ Merriam Bartlett Bay, east side Glacier
Bay, Southeastern Alaska.
_orgiloides_ nobis Italio River, Alaska.
_pallasi_ Merriam Donjek River, southwestern
Yukon.
_rungiusi rungiusi_ nobis Rocky Mountains, headwaters
Athabaska River, Alberta.
_rungiusi sagittalis_ nobis Champagne Landing, southwestern
Yukon.
_macfarlani nobis_ Anderson River, 50 miles
below Fort Anderson, Mackenzie.
_canadensis_ Merriam[2] Moose Pass, near Mount
Robson, British Columbia.
_Arizonæ_ group:
_Ursus arizonæ_ Merriam Escudilla Mts., Apache County,
Arizona.
_idahoensis_ nobis North Fork Teton River,
eastern Idaho.
_pulchellus pulchellus_ nobis Ross River, Yukon.
_pulchellus ereunetes_ nobis Beaverfoot Range, Kootenay
District, British Columbia.
_oribasus_ nobis Upper Liard River, Yukon.
_chelan_ Merriam East slope Cascade Mts.,
Chelan County, Washington.
_shoshone_ Merriam Estes Park, Colorado.
_kennerlyi_ Merriam Mountains of northeastern
Sonora, near Los Nogales,
Mexico.
_utahensis_ Merriam Salina Creek, near Mayfield,
Utah.
_perturbans_ nobis Mount Taylor, northern New
Mexico.
_rogersi rogersi_ nobis Upper Greybull River, Absaroka
Mountains, Wyoming.
_rogersi bisonophagus_ nobis Black Hills (Bear Lodge),
northeastern Wyoming.
_pervagor_ Merriam Pemberton Lake (now Lillooet
Lake), British Columbia.
_caurinus_ Merriam Berners Bay, east side
Lynn Canal, Southeastern
Alaska.
_eulophus_ Merriam Admiralty Island, Southeastern
Alaska.
_klamathensis_ Merriam[2] Beswick, near mouth Shovel
Creek, Klamath River,
northern California.
_mendocinensis_ Merriam[2] Long Valley, Mendocino
County, California.
_magister_ Merriam[2] Los Biacitos, Santa Ana
Mountains, Southern California.
_Hylodromus_ group:
_Ursus hylodromus_ Elliot Rocky Mountains, western
Alberta.
_kluane kluane_ Merriam McConnell River, Yukon.
_kluane impiger_ nobis Columbia Valley, British Columbia.
_pellyensis_ nobis Ketza Divide, Pelly Mountains,
Yukon.
_andersoni_ nobis[2] Dease River, near Great
Bear Lake, Mackenzie.
_Horriæus_ group:
_Ursus apache_ Merriam Whorton Creek, south slope
White Mts., eastern Arizona
(a few miles west of Blue).
_horriæus_ Baird Coppermines, southwestern
New Mexico.
_henshawi_ Merriam Southern Sierra Nevada,
near Havilah, Kern County,
California.
_Stikeenensis_ group:
_Ursus stikeenensis_ Merriam Tatletuey Lake, tributary to
Finlay River, near head
Skeena River, British Columbia.
_crassodon_ nobis Klappan Creek (= Third
South Fork Stikine River),
British Columbia.
_crassus_ nobis[2] Upper Macmillan River, Yukon.
_mirabilis_ Merriam[2] Admiralty Island, Alaska.
_absarokus_ Merriam[2] Little Bighorn River, northern
Bighorn Mountains,
Montana.
_Alascensis_ group:
_Ursus alascensis_ Merriam Unalaklik River, Alaska.
_toklat_ Merriam Head of Toklat River, north
base Alaska Range, near
Mount McKinley, Alaska.
_latifrons_ Merriam Jasper House, Alberta.
_Richardsoni_ group:
_Ursus richardsoni_ Swainson Shore of Arctic Ocean, west
side Bathurst Inlet, near
mouth of Hood River.
_russelli_ Merriam[2] West side Mackenzie River
delta, Canada.
_phæonyx_ Merriam[2] Glacier Mountain, Tanana
Mts., Alaska (about 2
miles below source of Comet
Creek, near Forty-mile
Creek, between Yukon and
Tanana Rivers).
_internationalis_ Merriam Alaska-Yukon boundary,
about 50 miles south of
Arctic coast.
_ophrus_ Merriam Eastern British Columbia
(exact locality unknown).
_washake_ Merriam North Fork Shoshone River,
Absaroka Mts., western
Wyoming.
_Kidderi_ group:
_Ursus kidderi kidderi_ Merriam Chinitna Bay, Cook Inlet,
Alaska.
_kidderi tundrensis_ Merriam Shaktolik River, Norton
Sound, Alaska.
_eximius_ Merriam Head of Knik Arm, Cook
Inlet, Alaska.
_Innuitus_ group:
_Ursus innuitus_ Merriam Golofnin Bay, south side
Seward Peninsula, northwestern
Alaska.
_cressonus_ Merriam Lakina River, south slope
Wrangell Range, Alaska.
_alexandræ_ Merriam[2] Kusilof Lake, Kenai Peninsula,
Alaska.
_Townsendi_ group:
_Ursus townsendi_ Merriam Mainland of Southeastern
Alaska (exact locality
uncertain).
_Dalli_ group:
_Ursus dalli_ Merriam Yakutat Bay (northwest
side), Alaska.
_hoots_ Merriam Clearwater Creek, a north
branch of Stikine River,
British Columbia.
_sitkensis_ Merriam Sitka Islands, Alaska.
_shirasi_ Merriam Pybus Bay, Admiralty Island,
Alaska.
_nuchek_ Merriam[2] Head of Nuchek Bay, Hinchinbrook
Island, Prince
William Sound, Alaska.
_Gyas_ group:
_Ursus gyas_ Merriam Pavlof Bay, Alaska Peninsula.
_middendorffi_ Merriam Kodiak Island, Alaska.
_Kenaiensis_ group:
_Ursus kenaiensis_ Merriam Cape Elizabeth, extreme
west end Kenai Peninsula,
Alaska.
_sheldoni_ Merriam Montague Island, Prince
William Sound, Alaska.
_Vetularctos_ genus nobis (pp. 131-133, 'North American Fauna, No. 41'):
_Vetularctos inopinatus_ nobis Rendezvous Lake, northeast
of Fort Anderson, Mackenzie.
[Footnote 2: "Reference to group provisional."]
Will the Grizzly be Exterminated?
The grizzly bear is vanishing so rapidly that without protection he is
likely to become extinct. If there is good reason--and there is--for the
protection of deer, elk, and the bighorn, there is every good reason why
we should protect the grizzly. He is a destroyer of pests, he helps
sustain a hunting-industry, he encourages many individuals to take
mental relaxation and healthful exercise in the outdoors, he carries
more popular and sustained interest than any other animal, and, in most
respects, he is the greatest wild animal in the world. It will benefit
the human race to perpetuate the grizzly, and to do this will require a
few years of legal protection.
A close season for a period of years is needed. If there is an open
season this should be restricted to two or three States, and it should
be short. The number taken should be limited to one per person, unless a
mother grizzly with cubs be killed, in which case the cubs also may be
captured. The use of steel trap, deadfall, poison, spring gun, and dogs
should be prohibited and the sale of hides forbidden.
Most big game has had some protection for years; the grizzly has had
none. He is not a bad fellow, there is no just claim against him, but he
has paid the penalty of being misunderstood. He has been classed as a
menace and relentlessly pursued as though a dangerous criminal. Men
follow him the year round, with guns, dogs, horses, traps, and poison.
He is even trailed to the hibernating-den and slaughtered without any
chance for his life.
Fear of bears and prejudice against them is all too often taught and
developed in childhood. Mothers and nurses hush children by telling
them, "Bears will get you if you're not good." People, however, are now
learning that bears are not ferocious, that they do not eat human flesh,
and that in the wilds the grizzly flees from man as though from a
pestilence.
Mr. Pocock, in "A Man in the Open," with quaint, satirical philosophy
goes to the bottom of the grizzly question. He says:--
"The coarse treatment grizzlies gets from hunters makes them sort of
bashful with any stranger. Ye see, b'ars yearns to man, same as the
heathen does to their fool gods, whereas bullets, pizen, and
deadfalls is sort of discouraging. Their sentiments gets mixed, they
acts confused and naturally if they're shot at they'll get hostile,
same as you and me. They is misunderstood and that's how nobody has
a kind word for grizzlies."
Grizzlies are walking mouse-traps. They are, like birds, destroyers of
pests, and give us services of economic value. They are useful for what
they eat; their food is made up in part of mice, rats, rabbits, ants,
grasshoppers, and stray carcasses, and the remainder may be considered
of little or no value to man.
A grizzly came down into a rancher's meadow in southern Colorado and
"rooted it up like a hog." The owner was up in arms and one morning
killed the invader. Curious as to what the grizzly could have been
eating, he sent for a local butcher. His "insides" showed, among other
things, the remains of thirty-four mice, one rat, and one rabbit.
Rarely does a grizzly kill cattle. This killing, when done, is by one
grizzly. Perhaps ninety-nine out of every hundred grizzlies never kill
any stock or big game. Then, too, when a grizzly kills cattle he
usually makes a business of it, and if one should get the habit he could
be specially disposed of. Protection to the grizzly would not be at the
expense of live stock or big game.
During rambles in the mountains through the years I have investigated
more than fourteen cases in which the grizzly was charged with killing
cattle. In a number of instances there was not a trace of a grizzly near
the carcass. There were traces of other animals, but the guilty one
could not be determined. There were eleven carcasses that had been
visited by grizzlies; six of these animals had been killed by lions, one
by poisonous plants, one by wolves, two by stones that rolled from a
land-slip. In the eleventh case neither the carcass nor its surroundings
gave any conclusive evidence for determining the cause of the cow's
death. The carcass had been fed upon by coyotes, wolves, lions, and both
black and grizzly bears. But what killed the cow? It might have been
lightning or disease, a wolf or a lion, or possibly a hunter. Many
hunters are not up on natural history and shoot at the first object that
moves. The only evidence against the grizzly was entirely
circumstantial; he had eaten a part of the carcass.
The killing of wild life is not in my line. I am not a hunter. But in
the hunting-industry the grizzly heads the list. The hunter will pay
more for a shot at a grizzly than for a shot at any other, and often all
other, big game. Hunters frequently spend from one thousand to many
thousands of dollars in going after the grizzly. They will work harder
and longer for a grizzly than for any other animal.
But the grizzly-hunting industry is coming to an end through decreasing
numbers of grizzlies. A short time ago the "Saturday Evening Post" said:
"The betting is a thousand to one that you will never kill a grizzly
inside the United States. There are a few left but not many; and all are
highly trained in suspiciousness and resourcefulness."
If the hunting of grizzlies is to continue, the grizzly must promptly
have some protection. Mr. J. A. McGuire, editor of "Outdoor Life," has
been working for years to bring about legal protection and intelligent
understanding of bears. At last it looks as though he would succeed. But
much work is yet to be done before all States give bears proper
protection, before bear natural histories are rewritten and bears are
appreciated at their real, their high, worth. Writing as a
hunter-naturalist, Mr. McGuire says:--
"When the grizzly bear shall have passed--and he is found in such
lamentably small numbers now that his exit from our midst is but a
question of years--there shall have disappeared from our mountains
one of the sublimest specimens of animal life that exalts the
western wilderness. As a sporting trophy, his hide stands at the top
of the list of American wild animals--one which sportsmen from all
over the world have come here to secure. Nowhere else in the world
can the grizzly bear be found except in western North America, and
we as sportsmen naturalists should see to it that his demise is not
hastened and that his life shall be preserved to posterity."
Shooting is not all there is to hunting. Hunters while hunting often
take on a new lease of efficiency, even though they do not get the
grizzly. Often, too, they make the intimate acquaintance of another
hunter, or of a guide, and return with enlarged views into human nature;
or they develop a new and worth-while outdoor interest. So that,
considered solely for hunting purposes, the grizzly has both a
commercial and a higher value.
Any one who sees a grizzly bear in his rugged mountain home or even in a
National Park, which is a wilderness-land, will receive a lasting
impression. It is the character of this animal that stands out. He is of
heroic size and powerfully built, but he is at all times so dignified,
and so wide-awake, that his individuality never fails to impress you.
The splendid animal and the scene wherein he stood will often be
recalled. Again and again you will wonder concerning him and his life,
his neighbors, and his territory. The interest which you have received
may lead you to revisit the wild, revivifying mountain-land in which he
lives.
When the hunter ceased firing in the Yellowstone National Park, the
grizzly bear was the first of the big wild animals to discover that it
was safe to show himself. The wildest animal, extremely shy of being
seen even at long range, he showed his superior intelligence, his strong
character, in being the first to realize that times had changed and that
man had ceased trying to kill the wild folks on sight. It took the other
big animals a long time to learn that they were protected. Many of them
relied on old experiences, and for years, on the approach of man, they
ran for their lives.
National Parks are developing a friendly interest in grizzlies, and
there is a growing appreciation of the grizzly's true worth. But just at
present this appreciation and this sentiment are not strong enough to
protect the grizzly without the formal assistance of a
grizzly-protection law.
During the past twenty-five years the grizzly population has enormously
decreased. The grizzly is in danger of extermination. In California,
where he was once numerous, he is now extinct. He has also gone from
extensive areas in all the other Western States. In the areas where he
still exists the population is in most places sparse.
It is doubtful if he is holding his own anywhere within the bounds of
the United States, unless it be in Glacier National Park. The grizzly
population of the Yellowstone National Park is variously estimated from
fifty to one hundred. But each year numbers of cubs born inside the Park
are trapped just outside of it, and old bears whose home is inside the
Park are occasionally shot outside the boundary-line. It may be that the
bears coming in from outside, a few of whom each year appear to move
into the Park to live, may maintain the normal or possibly slightly
increase the population; but this is doubtful. There are a few
grizzlies in the Rocky Mountain National Park, perhaps a few in the
Mount Rainier Park, and a number in four or five of the Canadian
National Parks. Alaska is the grizzly country at present; but dozens of
hunters are each year putting a check on its increase in grizzly
population, except in the Mount McKinley National Park.
The grizzly needs protection at once, needs your active interest now. He
is making his last stand and is surrounded by relentless foes.
Protection only will save him and enable him to perpetuate himself.
Without the grizzly the wilds would be dull, the cañon and the crag
would lose their eloquent appeal. This wild uncrowned king has won his
place in nature which no other animal can fill. We need the grizzly
bear--the King of the Wilderness World.
With a closed season everywhere in the United States for a few years,
the bears would increase in numbers and in due time areas now
depopulated would be again peopled by them. Among the grizzlies there
are always adventurers who wander far away looking for new scenes. These
exploring grizzlies, as numbers increased, might redistribute
themselves. Grizzlies in western Oregon might wander southward and even
restock the four National Parks of California, where there is now not a
grizzly. But this would require a cessation of the shooting of grizzlies
for a number of years.
The population might be more quickly affected by restocking. A few
grizzlies could be trapped in Yellowstone and set free in these other
National Parks. The problem of restocking unoccupied areas would not be
difficult if there could be for a few years a general closed season. In
restocking these areas the zoos could not help. So far grizzlies have
not been successfully bred in confinement.
The grizzly is an educational factor of enormous potential value. An
acquaintance with him will give a lively interest in the whole world of
nature, in both natural history and the natural resources of the earth.
A knowledge of these will increase the enjoyment and the usefulness of
every one.
In learning natural history the grizzly might well be the first life
studied. Interest in him could be used to arouse interest in all life.
In the very beginnings of interest in any living thing there is a desire
for information concerning its food. Soil, directly or indirectly,
produces the entire food-supply of the earth. Thus the trail of the
grizzly bear would lead one to the wonderful story of soil-creation and
the strange, almost enchanting powers it has over our strange existence.
For the young, and perhaps for the older, the grizzly has qualities
which should make him the supreme mental stimulus of the great outdoors.
A better acquaintance with him will be beneficial of itself, and an
interest in him would inevitably extend to his wild neighbors and to the
whole wide world of beauty and grandeur wherein he lives his adventurous
life.
The eagle, our emblematic bird, has prowess; he soars, he dares the
storm, and he explores the cloud scenery of the sky. He makes an appeal
to the interest of a few, but the bear stirs the minds and the hearts of
many. In most respects the grizzly would rival the eagle for an
emblematic animal and would excel all animals in arousing a nature
interest around the world.
Perpetuate the grizzly in our wild places and National Parks, and this
will fill all wild scenes again with their appealing primeval spell--the
master touch which stirs the imagination. An educator has called the
imagination "the supreme intellectual faculty"; it is creative,
original, refreshing. The imagination will be alive so long as the
grizzly lives.
In art alone the grizzly is a subject worthy of the sculptor. He will
help quicken and develop the creative imagination of any one who knows
him--the grizzly of heroic art.
The grizzly probably heads the animal list in brain-power. He is still
developing. He appreciates play and he has marked individuality. He is
the greatest animal that is without a voice. Stories of "this animal
that walks like man" ever appeal; he is the most impressive animal on
the continent. He is the dominant and the most distinguished animal of
the world.