This play of a grizzly with an object is much less common than their
other play, such as coasting. Several times I have seen grizzlies lying
on their stomachs sliding down a steep, smooth, grassy slope, or trying
to start themselves on a slope that was not steep enough for coasting. A
grizzly pauses to play frequently. A mother and cubs often play together
in the water, with apparent enjoyment for all. Many a beaver pond is a
favorite swimming-hole for the cubs and a wading-place for the older
bears.
I watched an old grizzly romping in the mud of a shallow pond. After
rolling and wallowing about, until his fur coat was covered with mud
thick enough to form a plaster cast, he grew energetic. He ran for the
shore with all speed, as though hunters and dogs were upon him. Once out
of the mud, he turned and raced back through the pond, galloping all
the way across and sending the mud and water flying in exciting fashion.
After a momentary pause he again galloped through the mud and water to
the other side. The pond was half filled with sediment, and evidently
the mud was more than a foot deep.
One autumn while camping on the Continental Divide near the head of
Forest Cañon, I discovered that a grizzly will sometimes climb a slope
for the purpose of coasting. While I was watching a flock of bighorn
sheep, a grizzly came to the summit of a near-by mountain. I saw him as
he reached the top and supposed he was crossing to the other side. He
shuffled along apparently with definite plans in mind. But he was not
going over the top. He headed straight for an out-jutting ridge where
the wind-blown snow from the summit had formed a cornice at the top of
its steep snowy slope.
The grizzly hurled himself headlong upon the snow cornice with fore paws
outstretched. The cornice gave way beneath him. The snow slid and
snow-dust whirled about him. I had glimpses of him looking like a
fur-robed Eskimo falling down a snowy precipice in a blizzard. As the
snow-dust cleared, it revealed the grizzly seated in a moving mass of
snow, coasting swiftly down.
The snow went to pieces on a nearly hidden rock-point and spilled the
coaster. He rolled, then slid, first on his stomach head first, then on
his back feet first, but collected himself at the bottom. Rising and
bearing away from the deep snow, he climbed up again and appeared to
look with interest at the gully he had made in the slope as he coasted
and also at the scattered marks where he was spilled.