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Friday, July 2, 2021

Bears

        Among the four-footed dwellers of the woods, there is none better known or more interesting than the bear. Like many other large animals its reputation has suffered from stories which tell of its fierceness and bad habits. Most of these stories are not true. Like a true gentleman, the bear tries to avoid trouble, but when his peaceful efforts fail he fights savagely.
       Most of the year the bear wanders about alone. In June it mates and the pair travel together for a short time. By late July, the honeymoon is over and they separate, each going its own way.
       The bear eats everything from ants to elk. It is very fond of honey and will go miles for it. During the late summer it becomes very fat feeding on berries, roots and acorns, and when cold weather comes it hunts a hollow tree or cave in which to sleep. Thus it spends the winter, curled up in its den. In the spring it comes out not as fat as when it went into its den.
       In January, while the female is still hibernating, the two tiny, blind and almost naked cubs are born. It is two months before they and their mother leave the den. She is very proud and jealous of her cubs, fighting savagely anything she thinks might harm them. These playful, mischievous youngsters box, wrestle and play in a very funny way.
       In North America, the bears might be grouped into the Grizzly Bears, Alaska Brown Bears, Black Bears and Polar Bears.
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       The Grizzly Bear is one of the largest and most powerful of the family with long claws and the tips of the hairs of its dark coat a grizzled gray, which gives it the name of Grizzly or Silver Tip. It roams the mountains of Western North America, where from the days of the earliest explorers it has been known as America’s fiercest and most dangerous big game animal. In the early days, it was bold and indifferent to man, but when the white hunter came with his powerful rifle, the Grizzly soon learned its danger and it is now very shy; the slightest sound or smell of man causes it to flee at a lumbering but very fast gallop.
       He is a solitary monarch of the mountains, dignified and unafraid, eating everything that grows, animal or vegetable; unwilling to quarrel with man, but terrible when aroused to anger or revenge.
       The Kodiak or Alaska Brown Bear is the largest meat-eating animal in North America. In Alaska and the neighboring islands, where it roams over the rocky country, it eats most anything it can find. In June when the salmon go up the streams to lay their eggs, it spends hours fishing, throwing the fish up on the bank with a quick scoop of its long claws. In the fall it eats grass like a cow, becomes very fat and hibernates.
       As a rule this bear is a shy, peaceful giant, fleeing at the first sight or smell of man, but when wounded or suddenly surprised at close quarters, it attacks its enemy furiously.
       The Black Bear is one of the most amusing and playful of all wild animals and is often called the “Clown” and the “Happy Hooligan” of the woods.
       It can climb as soon as it can walk. The first thing a Black Bear mother does when danger threatens, is to send her cubs up a tree where they stay until she calls them, when they slide down backward and amble away. Even when grown, the Black Bear will often climb a tree for safety.
       It is very shy about all strange or doubtful things and its motto is, “When in doubt, run.” When it smells or hears a man, it slips away like a black shadow, travels for miles at a fast pace until far away from the hateful smell and sound.
       The Polar Bear of the Arctic is dressed in white the year around to match the ice and snow. It is the most powerful swimmer of the family and enjoys swimming in the icy water, looking for seals and walruses. On land it wanders over the ice floes, feeding on whatever it can find.
       Polar Bears do not hibernate. In a den under the ice and snow, the two cubs are born. A very devoted mother cares for the cubs and protects them until they are grown.
       In the immense barren regions of the Arctic, where this “Ice King” can live his life undisturbed, there are many that pass their lives unknown and undisturbed by their enemy—man.
       In foreign countries are found the cousins of our bears. The Brown Bear is found in Europe and in Asia the Himalayan Black Bear, while the little Sloth Bear is found in India and the Sun Bear in the Malay Peninsula. Gordon S. Pearsall

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