Bumbling black bears were not always the apex predators of Saskatchewan's boreal forest. Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos, formerly known as 'ursa horribilis') were once an abundant species in the prairie provinces whose range extended from the Rocky Mountains to east of Winnipeg.
Although the plains population of grizzly bear was deemed extirpated in the 1880s, reports in east-central Saskatchewan and western Manitoba occurred relatively late within the past century. The last reputable sightings occurred in the Pasquia Hills until 1950, and Porcupine Hills in 1960.
White recounted another story of Gerry Murdock, who killed a grizzly bear south of the Pasquia Hills in 1939 and had photographic evidence. The bear terrified Murdock's family for several days, and at one point had "broke into the home, drank a five gallon crock of cream and caused much damage." The bear was shot between the eyes with a gun triggered by a trip wire on the other side of a shed door.
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