Hyampom Hog Bear - [Fearsome Critter]

Hyampom Hog Bear. - (Ursus unimorsus amantiporcus) - [Fearsome Critter]

• About this Critter: A naturally curly-haired variety of brown-black bear with a cinnamon-orange coloration (often mistaken for a cinnamon black-bear* & at times it is illusrated as a literal bear-pig.) - This type of bear was said to Range from mouth of the Columbia River southward to the Klamath. - it was named as such as it primarily prays off of farmers plump acorn engouged hogs, knocking them down the hillsides of Hyampom, North California and picking them off at the bottom, taking but a single bite from their rumps. -- While examining timber on the Klamath River, Mr. Eugene S. Bruce, of the Forest Services, captured a Hyampom Hog-bear Cub, the young bear was then donated to the Rock Creek Park Zoo in Washington for further examination...

• History: The final critter which was included in "Fearsome critters of the lumberwoods" [1910] the entry goes as follows: 

THE HYAMPOM HOG BEAR. (Ursus unimorsus amantiporcus.)
"    Ranging from mouth of the Columbia River southward to the Klamath, woodsmen report the existence of a bear known as the Hyampom hog bear. This is a small, sharp-nosed, curly-haired variety of the black and brown bear of the Coast Ranges, but must not be confused with the Peaked-heel cinnamon.
    To appreciate the importance of this animal one must remember that hog ranches are common in northwestern California. The Country there is peculiarly adapted to hog raising, and the industry would be attractive and highly profitable were it not for the existence of the hog bear. The mountain slopes are covered with scrubby and creeping oaks, which bear prodigious crops of sweet and very nutritious acorns. These naturally ripen earliest upon the lower slopes, where the young hogs begin to feed. As the acorns higher up the slopes begin to ripen, the hogs ascend the mountain, each week finding them a few hundred feet higher and many pounds fatter. About Christmas time the last of the acorns are reached on the upper slopes, and the hogs have by that time become so fat that their legs scarcely reach the ground, and the slightest jar is all that the hog bear gets in his destructive work. He "mooches" along the base of the mountain before the rancher has time to rustle his pork, and finding hogs so plentiful and so helplessly fat he takes just one bite out of the back of each, leaving the porker squealing with agony and the rancher swearing with rage.
    While examining timber on a tributary of the Klamath River, California, Mr. Eugene S. Bruce, of the Forest Services, captured a cub hog bear, which he presented to the National Zoo in Washington. Its development will be watched with Interest and its disposition studied by members of the Biological Survey."

[a photo of Eugene S. Bruce, Forest Supervisor 1908. - Source: USDA national forest service.]

[Flumes and Fluming Bulletin No 87, 1914  a bulletin article by Eugene S Bruce]

whilst on a trip to California surveying the trinity forest in early 1910: Allegedly Eugene caught the bear cub with his bare hands! (a photo of said bear can be found in "The Land We Live In, The Book of Conservation by Overton W. Price.") [below, published 1911] - (Later editions of Overtons book thank both Cox & Eugene personally in the preface.)

Although details of the encounter are muddy, I was also able to locate a single news article from 1910 about Eugene Bruces donation to the Rock Creek Park Zoo, where in a '3 month old brown bear' was in-fact donated and christened "Hyampom Teddy" in early 1910. (I dont beleive that this article has never been mentioned in earlier writings surrounding this critter!)

- [The news article about the 'hyampom teddy'. Sanfransisco Call, June 3rd, 1910.]

so we at least know it happened, normally I'd say that would be it, case closed, it was obviously just a brown bear cub & obviously Cox was humorously including an entry/shout out to his dear friend. ...but diving a little deeper still...

The forestry service does indeed have at least one article on record [published 1924] in regards to bears In Yosemite national park which mentions a few earlier accounts of Californian Pig farmers who were having trouble with Cinnamon-coloured Black-Bears, and bears eating out of their Hogs feeding troughs & coming down from the hills to feast on acorns!! [Near Camp Curry & Hatch Hechy valley, and south towards the Bullion Mountains specifically]  (Weather or not these bears had curly hairs is sadly not mentioned.)I must admit, this it is still pretty normal behavior for bears (regardless of the peculiar curly hair or not.) 

--As for the bit about the bears taking only a single bite out of the pigs rumps, well unfortunately, I've been unable to find any proper folkloric parallels, yet. Perhaps Cox added that on just to be funny, or perhaps it was based on an oral account from a farmer? who can say for certain? --For now, I rest my case: the mystery of the Hyampom Hog-Bears continues!!

Art Sticker by @samkalensky - part of my Fearsome Critters & cryptids collection of stickers, follow me for many more!