Part 12

"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.