Part 21

"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.

(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 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 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 Beswick, near mouth Shovel Creek, Klamath River, northern California. mendocinensis Merriam Long Valley, Mendocino County, California. magister Merriam 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 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 Upper Macmillan River, Yukon. mirabilis Merriam Admiralty Island, Alaska. absarokus Merriam 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 West side Mackenzie River delta, Canada. phæonyx Merriam 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 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 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.

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.