The Barren Ground Grizzly Bear in Northern Canada

294 NOTES AND PAPERS SHORT for the expression of these attitudes in The Social Development of Canada, To- a manner consistent with fundamental ronto: University of Toronto Press. 1942, thought modes of the old culture. p. 39. That these spirit entities are a re- “Howard, J. K., Strange empire. New York: sponse to white contact seems certain. Wm. Morrow and Co., 1952, p. 254ff. and However, the explanations of the func- p. 299. tions of belief in the Angnasheotik ad- :{Mooney,James, The Ghost Dance Religion vanced here, plausible though they may and theSioux Outbreak of 1890,14th be, are little more than guesses. Sys- Ann. Rep., Bur. of Ethn. 1892-93, pt. II., tematic study would be necessary to Washington,Government Printing Of- establish or refute them and might at fice, p. 657. the sametime add something to our $Worsley, Peter. TheTrumphet Shall knowledge of the processes of accul- Sound: A Study of CargoCults in turation. Melanesia. Magibbon and Kee, 1957. KENNETHDUNCAN* ETurner, L. M. Ethnology of the Ungava ____~ District. 11thAnn. Rep. Bur. of Ethn. * University of Western Ontario, London, 1889-90, Washington, Government Print- Ontario, Canada. ingOffice, p. 267. CHawkes, E. W.,The Labrador Eskimo. ‘Bailey, A. The conflict of European and Geol. Surv.Mem. 91, No. 14, Anthrop.Ser. Algonkian cultures. Cited in S. D. Clark: Ottawa:King’s Printer, 1916, p. 118. THEBARREN GROUND GRIZZLY withthose of more recent observers, BEAR IN NORTHERN CANADA whose coverage tends, on the whole, to Although little is knownof the be more systematic. Finally, the appar- ethology and ecology of theBarren ent trend in the data depends partly on Ground grizzly bear in the Northwest the limits selected for each map-period. Territories, its occurrence there is none Banfield writes that Hanbury (ref. 3, the lessvery interesting from a zoo- pp. 14, 40) “ . mentioned black bears geographic viewpoint. The present note in the Thelon Valley but made no men- isprompted by Dr. A. W. F. Ban- tion of grizzlies”. However, Clarke (ref. field’s recent review of its distributionl. 4, p. 32) says that “He [Hanbury] did Banfield supports histhesis thatthe not see one [black bear] and because, species has only recently spread east- apart from his suggestion, no evidence ward from the Coppermine River- has ever been found of such an occur- Bathurst Inlet region with three suc- rence, whereas the barren ground bear cessive distribution maps on which are iswell distributed on the Thelon, it shownmany early and recent rec- must be assumed that the signs he ob- ords, both positive and negative. How- served were of the barrenground bear”. ever, we feel that some of the earlier Following Clarke, there is ample basis ones,which Banfield considered neg- for the view that both Hanbury’s record ative, admitof a contrary interpretation. and the discussion of black bear distri- Moreover, two of them (discussed be- bution in easternKeewatin by Freuchen low) appear to support the more prob- (ref. 5,pp. 101-2) refer to the Barren ablehypothesis thatthe range of the Groundgrizzly bear and not tothe Barren Ground grizzly bear has under- black bear. It should be noted also that gone at least one major fluctuation since Eskimosfrom Baker Lake, the lower the disappearance of Wisconsin ice from Kazan River, AberdeenLake, and Garry the mainlandNorthwest Territories, Lake, at present knowonly one dark which,according to ref. 2, tookplace bear, the Barren Ground grizzly bear, some 7,000 years ago. Another point and thatthe black bear is very rare that comes to mind when examining the even at Padlei, onthe tree-linee. three maps is the difficulty inherent in Lyon (ref. 7, p.175) heard from an comparing the records of early explorers Eskimoin 1822 that “bothblack and SHORT PAPERSNOTES AND 295 white bears” were numerous in the re- istence or former existence of the grizz- gion of. WagerBay. It can hardly be ly bear in that region. doubted thatthe “black” bears were Anotherpoint made by Banfield grizzly bears, especially as Ebierbing against the possibleoccurrence of the told Schwatkas that several of the latter Barren Ground grizzly bear in Ungava species were killed by the Eskimos of was thatit is“incompatible with the Chesterfield Inlet, presumably inthe present distribution pattern of the spe- 1870’s or 1880’s. Schwatka also recorded cies in North America”. We believethat the accounts of Eskimos from Simpson Elton’scarefully gathered evidencell Strait concerning their occasional en- should not be so quickly discarded (see counters inland with whatcan only also refs.12, pp. 104-10 and 31, pp. 83-9). have been grizzly bears (ref. 8, p. 27). Grizzly and brown bears belong to a From this evidence it might be conclud- single species, Ursus arctos, and do not ed that the range of the Barren Ground appear to be readily separable taxo- grizzly bear has shrunk since the 19th nomically. The former is perhaps best century: could a reduction in numbers considered as a variety characteristic of on the central Barren Grounds have the mountainous regions and rather dry coincided with the presence of people barrens of Eurasia and North America on the major water routes armed with (ref. 13,pp. 339). Fossil records of which repeating rifles? Clarke’s accountof his- we are aware indicate that the species toricalchanges in the distribution of did not invadethe North American con- people along the Thelon River4 supports tinent until possibly late Illinoian time. such a view. Onceconvinced thatthe recent in- Banfield’s statement “It isprobable crease of grizzly bear records from the that thebears couldnot live where eastern Barren Landsdemonstrated a ground squirrels are absent” must be major post-glacial range extension, it regarded as supposition. Between 1950 was natural for Banfield to assume that and 1958 Kelsall has had numerous re- the speciesdispersed eastward from ports of Barren Groundgrizzly bears Beringia.Although such a speculation fromforested areas in the Northwest may be justified,we are aware of no Territories. These includeFort Reliance, direct evidence that it inhabited this where a bear shot by a trapper was ex- refugium, whereas thereare several aminedin 1956; Stark Lake, where records of fossil Ursus arctos to the grizzly and black bears were commonly south of the glaciatedregion, and no seen at mining developmentsin themid- obvious reason to suppose that grizzly fifties; and forested areas around Great bears did not follow the retreating ice- Bear Lake, including Port Radium, edge to the north and east over a wide Contact Lake, the mouth of the Dease front, becoming only secondarily sepa- River, and the shore around Smith Arm. rated from their relations on the plains The Parry ground squirrel is scarce to as the northern forests developed. The the point of absence in these forested oldest known fossil grizzlybear, a skull areas.Adolph Murie’s authoritative identified by Stovall and Johnston14, is study (ref. 9,pp. 190-201) on the feeding of probableSangamon age or slightly habits of the grizzly bear in Mount Mc- earlier and came from Overpeck, Ohio KinleyNational Park indicates that, (ref. 15, pp. 772-6; ref. 16, p. 329). The during the months in which bears were existence of the species in easternNorth active, ground squirrels made up only America prior to the Wisconsin glacia- 5 per cent of their diet. Although a “side tion obviously makesits recent survival dish” of ground squirrels could be im- in Ungava quite possible.Two other portant (ref. 10, p. 142), it appears that grizzly bear skulls of “Pleistocene” age the bears are labile in their food habits, are fromLawton and Cheyennein variations being both seasonal and re- Oklahomal4, and another, of probable gional.Because ground squirrelsare Pleistocene age or later is known from absent from northeastern Ungava does Lenora in the samestatel’. There are not, therefore, make impossible the ex- also two records of “Schultz’s grizzly” 296 PAPERSSHORT AND NOTES from the Wisconsin deposits of McKit- 13, 1955, as well as two others on July trick and Ranchola Brea, California 29, 1956, near Wholdaia Lake (61°00’N. (ref. 18, p. 462), but Kurt6n30 evidently 103°30’W.)23. In or nearthe area be- regards these specimens as belonging to tween Beverly and Aberdeen lakes a large-sizedsubspecies of the black Barren Ground grizzly bears appear to bear (“Ursus americanus amplidens be of regular spring and summer occur- Leidy”). He subsequently describes a rence. An adult wasseen on July 26, singlegrizzly bear skull frompit 10, 1959 by Macpherson, and Eskimos re- Rancho la Brea, which he states is “. ported seeing others about June 10 and perhaps post-Pleistocene . .” inage. July 8, 1960. E. H. McEwennoted a Inaddition thereis the fossilpelvis grizzly bear at the mouth of Dubawnt fragment (presumably Pleistocenein River, and a female with one cub near age) mentioned briefly by Freudenberg the west end of Beverly Lake, both in (ref. 19, p. 13), from Cannada de Acul- the first week of June 196024. A female zingo in Mexico. Erdbrinkl3 says of the and three large cubs were noted by E. last specimen “He referred the find to Kuyt near themouth of Dubawnt River an Ursus sp., perhaps U.‘fer02 [a syn- on July 12, 196lZ5.According to Eskimos onym of the grizzly]”. The earliest re- once resident on Garry Lake and Back mains of the species known to us from River, Barren Groundgrizzly bears the vicinity of Beringia,found in the were encountered there with increasing Firth River region of the Yukon Ter- frequency in the late 1940’s and 1950’s. ritory, and believed to be between 3,250 A Baker Lake Eskimo, Peryouar, re- and 4,000 years old (ref. 20, p.

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