Polar Bear and Mammoth on the Pribilof Islands

Abstract

Museum specimens of polar bear from the Pribilof Islands include the skull of an individual shot on St. Paul, and fragmentary remains of uncertain geologic age from a lava cave in Bogoslof Hill, St. Paul, once thought to represent a distinct species. Mammoth remains have been discovered from time to time beginning in 1836, and are here regarded as in part valid evidence that the mammoth actually lived in the area. The literature pertaining to these species on the Pribilof Islands is reviewed.