File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17537270694).jpg

Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo13amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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18 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL The polar bear is of less interest — a eireumpolar cosmopolitan, although seldom found far from the sea ice. In winter these bears are apt to appear anywhere along the coast, but in summer their occurrence depends largely upon the proximity of pack ice. Around Cape Parry in August we saw within two days fourteen bears roaming about the small rocky islands, evi- dently marooned when the ice left the beach. The polar bears seem to be most abundant around Cape Parry and the southern end of Banks Island, very rarely passing through Dolphin and Union Strait into Coronation Gulf. They are often seen swimming far out at sea. While whaling about twenty miles off Cape Bathurst (the nearest land) and about five miles from the nearest large ice mass, we saw a polar bear which paddled along quite unconcernedly until he winded the ship, then veered away, heading out toward the ice pack. As a field for short trips of investigation, the region east of Point Barrow can hardly be recommended, as after four years in the country, the only available means of exit last summer was a fortunate chance to ship for a three months' cruise on a whaling ship. And certainly we should not fail to mention the bowhead whale as the greatest game animal of the Arctic. The whaling industry which a few years ago kept a fleet employed in the western Arctic, once wintering fifteen ships at Herschel Island, and which directly or indirectly was responsible for the advent of civilization along these shores, with its concomitant effects upon population and fauna, has now declined to casual vessels which combine whaling with trading. The bowheads are far from being extinct however, and the single ship and schooner which whaled east of Point Barrow during the past summer
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Bear skins drving in the sun at Baillie Island for the Museum collection

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