The Grizzly, Our Greatest Wild Animal — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
The Grizzly, Our Greatest Wild Animal
John Stuart Mill · en
Going one autumn from Estes Park to North Park, Colorado, I came upon a
grizzly's track in the upper end of Forest Cañon. For several miles it
had followed an old wild-life trail. It crossed the Continental Divide,
then the No-Summer Mountains. From its trail I judged that it, too, knew
where it was going.
Had these bears gone to explore, to see the opportunities of a new
region? Or had they returned to old territory which they knew, perhaps
to obtain some particular kind of food, or just to have an outing? If
seeking new domains, it is possible that they would explore a number of
localities before selecting one.
In a few localities bears migrate in the spring and return home in the
fall. In these migrations the grizzly breaks his solitary custom and
travels in company. Most likely the bears happen to be on the same route
at the same time, and, like Pullman passengers, travel together without
speaking.
I saw eight grizzly bears one November traveling single file northward
from Middle Park. Back-tracking, I found that they had come from the
mountainous empire around the southern end of this park. They crossed
over into North Park in almost a straight line. Were they, I wondered,
heading for a new home, or was this an annual foraging affair? The
topography of the country traveled had some bearing on the common route
taken, but why were they traveling together? I heard of a number of
bears traveling together in northern New Mexico.
On one occasion a hunter on No-Wood Creek in the Big Horns saw seven old
grizzlies and two cubs together in the autumn. They were back-tracked to
the Yellowstone Park. The garbage-dumps in the Park are frequented by
neighboring bears and by numbers from outside the bounds of the Park.
As bears age, their teeth become broken and badly worn away. With
difficulty they manage to live. They are often handicapped through loss
of toes and by other injuries received in accidents and fights, and
through a weakening of faculties due to age. Their normal life appears
to be from thirty-five to fifty years.
In the mountains of the north of Yellowstone Park I came upon an
extremely old, hard-looking bear. I sat for some time within forty feet
of him, watching him rip an old log to pieces to get the ants and white
grubs. I was so close that I could see his tongue as it busily licked to
right and left. His red-looking eyes stared strangely. I think that he
must have been nearly blind, and also that he had nearly lost his
ability to scent. When I moved a little closer, he stopped eating, rose
up, sniffed the air queerly as though endeavoring to catch scent of me,
then listened and looked. He was not at all sure of my presence, though
looking in my direction. Two or three days later this old bear was
killed. Many of his teeth were gone, and others were badly worn away.
His claws were extremely blunt. His head and hide showed many
scars--marks of fights and marks from numerous bullets.