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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
The Grizzlies of Mount McKinley |
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CONTENTS
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
Chapter 2: STUDY BACKGROUND
Classification and Characteristics
Habitat
Numbers and Density
Age Determination of Cubs
Some Family Statistics
Tracks and Trails
Chapter 3: RANGE AND MOVEMENT
Home Range
Joint Occupation of Range
Movements of Transported Bears
Chapter 4: THE FAMILY
Mating
Nursing
Aspects of Family Life
Retirement to Cliffs
Mother-Cub Separation
Cub Companionship After Separation From Mother
Chapter 5: SUBSISTENCE
Hibernation
Food Habits
Carrion and Caching
Chapter 6: GRIZZLIES AND UNGULATES
Grizzly-Caribou Relationships
Grizzly-Moose Relationships
Grizzly-Dall Sheep Relationships
Chapter 7: GRIZZLIES AND RODENTS
Grizzly-Ground Squirrel Relationships
Grizzly-Marmot Relationships
Grizzly-Mouse Relationships
Grizzly-Beaver Relationships
Grizzly-Porcupine Relationships
Chapter 8: GRIZZLIES AND CARNIVORES
Grizzly-Wolf Relationships
Grizzly-Wolverine Relationships
Grizzly-Fox Relationships
Chapter 9: GRIZZLIES AND BIRDS/INSECTS
Grizzly-Golden Eagle Relationships
Grizzly-Magpie Relationships
Grizzly-Raven Relationships
Grizzly-Insect Relationships
Chapter 10: GRIZZLIES AND MAN
Chapter 11: KEEPING GRIZZLIES WILD
INDEX (omitted from the online edition)
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Murie, Adolph, 1899—
The grizzlies of Mount McKinley.(Scientific monograph series; no. 14)
Supt. of Docs. no.: I 29.80:14
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Grizzly bear—Behavior. 2. Mammals—Behavior. 3. Mammals—Alaska Mount McKinley National Park. 4. Mount McKinley National Park.
I. Title. II. Series: United States. National Park Service. Scientific monograph series; no. 14.
QL737.C27M87 599.74'446 80-607120
FIGURES
Frontispiece. Adolph Murie on Muldrow Glacier, 1939.
1 Denali (Mt. McKinley) stands above the grizzly's domain.
2 The shoulder hump and dished facial profile easily distinguish grizzlies from black bears in the field.
3,4 Forefeet and hind feet of grizzlies are clearly distinguishable.
5 Here a glacial stream has shifted its channel and is washing away an old vegetated river bar.
6 Here the glacial stream is washing away a wooded flat.
7 A female grizzly with two spring cubs on Sable Pass.
8 Mother with spring cub.
9 Some spring cubs have distinct white patches on the sides of the neck.
10 Mother with yearling in spring of 1964.
11 Mother with 2-year-old cubs feeding on first green grass blades.
12 Bear trail descending steep snow slope.
13 A bear tree, used for rubbing.
14 Mother grizzly and yearling crossing a late spring snow patch.
15 Map of the study area, Mt. McKinley National Park.
16 Approximate home ranges for two females recognized for periods of 4 years.
17 The dark brown female and her cub received a scare from photographers.
18 Approximate observed home range of a blond female with one spring cub in 1964 seen the following 3 years.
19 A female and her spring cub watch intently as a lone bear passes nearby.
20 The crippled male patiently following his female mate.
21 A mother nursing her spring cub, in the typical nursing posture for grizzlies.
22,23 This female used a telephone pole for backscratching. Minutes later her tiny spring cub rubbed its back on the pole.
24 During the breeding season females with cubs often spend the night in cliffs.
25 Mother with spring cub, followed by a 3-year-old cub.
26 The old cub watches mother, not daring to approach.
27 The older cub, chased by the female, had approached close to her and is here leaving in a hurry.
28 Twins, about 4 years old, still companionable after leaving their mother.
29 A lone bear seeking food after an early September snowfall.
30 Dens used by bears for overwintering appear to be located throughout the summer range in the park.
31 Grizzlies expose succulent roots by loosening chunks of sod with their forepaws.
32 Here grizzlies had been digging for the roots of peavine.
33 Winter deposits of overflow ice give some bars a respite from bear-digging, since they do not melt until summer.
34 The fleshy roots of peavine are a principal food of bears in the spring.
35 The juicy-stemmed Arctagrostis is the grass species eaten most frequently by grizzlies.
36 Boykinia, a showy saxifrage, is a major food item in favored grazing areas on Sable Pass.
37 One of the attractions for bears on Sable Pass is the sourdock (Rumex arcticus).
38 Some bears spend hours grazing on Oxytropis viscida.
39 Blueberries are a major bear food in late summer.
40,41 Additional information on food habits can be gained by examining bear scats.
42 This carcass of a caribou bull was mostly covered with sod and vegetation by a grizzly.
43 Robust caribou such as these almost never supplement the grizzly diet.
44 Migrating caribou.
45 The flats south of Polychrome Pass where bears seek caribou calves in some years.
46 Caribou seeking snow to minimize the attack of botflies and nose flies.
47 Mother moose followed by a very young calf.
48 An old bull moose at the beginning of the rut.
49 A cow moose may put a bear to flight, especially if the bear is not a large adult.
50 Dall sheep, not much worried about bears.
51 A band of Dall sheep, in migration across a valley.
52 Not long after this picture was taken a bear captured a straggling lamb.
53 Bears often are seen excavating ground squirrels.
54 A young bear looking for a ground squirrel.
55 Hoary marmots seldom are captured or excavated from their burrows.
56 As a rule the bears seem to keep at a safe distance from porcupines.
57 Bears often benefit from animals killed by wolves.
58 I have observed numerous fox dens located in choice bear country but rarely have seen any disturbance of them by bears.
59 Both golden eagles and grizzlies hunt ground squirrels and are attracted to carrion.
60 Photographers sometimes experience unsettling moments.
61 Napier Shelton standing beside a spruce tree where a grizzly attacked him.
62 "It would be fitting, I think, if among the last manmade tracks on earth could be found the huge footprints of the great brown bear." (Earl Fleming, 1958).
As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public lands and natural resources. This includes fostering the wisest use of our land and water resources, protecting our fish and wildlife, preserving the environmental and cultural values of our national parks and historical places, and providing for the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The Department assesses our energy and mineral resources and works to assure that their development is in the best interests of all our people. The Department also has a major responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and for people who live in Island Territories under U.S. administration.
TABLES
1 Minimum numbers of grizzly bears observed in Mt. McKinley National Park, 1939-1970.
2 Frequency of litter sizes at different ages observed in grizzly bears in Mt. McKinley National Park.
3 Minimum numbers of families of one, two, and three cubs observed in Mt. McKinley Park, 1922-1970.
4 Measurements of grizzly bear tracks.
5 Summary of home-range data for grizzly bear families seen for two or more summers.
6 Average length of nursing and nursing interval for families with cubs of different ages.
7 Tabulation of foods eaten by grizzlies from observations of feeding, 1945-1970.
8 Occurrence of food items in 810 grizzly bear scats.
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Last Updated: 06-Dec-2007