326 THE ASWAIL, OR SLOTH BEAR. 



Like that animal, it can sit or stand on its hinder limbs with the greatest ease, and pos- 

 sesses nearly as much flexile power of lip and tongue as the Bruang. It has a curious habit 

 of placing its superabundant food upon its hinder paws, as if to guard it from the defilement 

 of sand or dust, and feeds itself by slow degrees with dainty carefulness. 



It is extremely fond of fruits and various vegetables, and is, in its native country, a 

 dreaded foe to the cocoa-nut trees and their fruit. The animal is so excellent a climber that 

 it cannot be baffled by loftiness of trunk or smoothness of bark ; and when the creature has 

 attained the summit of the tree it frequently destroys the life of the tree by devouring the 

 topmost shoot for the sake of its delicate succulence. The cocoa-nuts themselves are objects 

 of interest to the Bomean Bruang, who is extremely fond of the peculiarly-flavored liquid 

 that is found in the interior of the nut ; and when he has reached a cluster of ripe nuts will 

 tear them from the tree and fling them on the ground. 



In captivity it is gentle, playful, and amusing, and possesses very curious and almost 

 ludicrous habits, which render it an object of interest to its visitors. Profoundly sensible of 

 human sympathies, and almost as fond of notice as a cat, the Bornean Bruang will accept with 

 evident delight the caresses of its visitors, and is pleased to be patted or stroked by kindly 

 hands, provided that it does not happen to be in a bad humor at the time. Should the animal 

 consider itself to be insulted a matter of rather frequent occurrence it will contumeliously 

 reject all advances, and will not consent to receive any mark of attention until the offender 

 is fairly out of sight. 



UNWIELDY in its movements, and grotesque in its form, the ASWAIL, or SLOTH BEAR, 

 is one of the most curious members of this group of animals. It is found in the mountainous 

 parts of India, and is equally dreaded and admired by the natives of the same country. 



Although a sufficiently harmless creature if permitted to roam unmolested among its 

 congenial scenery of mountain and precipice,, it is at the same time an extremely dangerous 

 foe if its slumbering passions are aroused by wounds or bodily pain of any kind. It needs, 

 however, that the wound be tolerably severe to induce the animal to turn upon the person 

 that inflicted the injury ; for should it only be slightly wounded, it runs forward in a straight 

 line, as if it were actuated by the one idea of getting as far as possible away from the object 

 which had caused it so much bodily suffering, and can but seldom be finally captured. 



As a general rule, the Aswail remains within its sheltered den during the hot hours of the 

 day, as its feet seem to be extremely sensitive to heat, and suffer greatly from the bare rocks 

 and stones which have been subjected to the burning rays of that glowing Indian sun. On 

 one or two occasions, however, where the wounded Bear had been successfully tracked and 

 killed, the soles of the poor animal' s feet were found to be horribly scorched and blistered by 

 the effects of the heated rocks over which the creature had recklessly passed in its haste to 

 escape from its enemies. 



On account of this extreme sensitiveness of the Aswail' s foot, it is very seldom seen by 

 daylight, and is generally captured and killed by hunters who track it to its sleeping-place, 

 and then attack their drowsy prey. 



The Aswail is said never to eat vertebrate animals except on very rare occasions, when it 

 is severely pressed by hunger. Its usual diet consists of various roots, bees' nests, together 

 with their honey and young bees, grubs, snails, slugs, and ants, of which insects it is extremely 

 fond, and which it eats in very great numbers. 



Probably on account of its mode of feeding, its flesh is in much favor as an article of diet, 

 and though rather coarse in texture, is said by those who have had practical experience of its 

 qualities to be extremely good. 



The fat of this Bear is very highly valued among the natives and the European residents, 

 being used chiefly for the lubrication of the delicate steel work that is employed in the interior 

 of gun-locks. For this purpose the fat is prepared in a similar manner to that of the tiger, 

 being cut into long strips, forced into closely stoppered bottles, and placed during the entire 

 day in the blazing rays of the sun. The powerful sunbeams soon melt the fat into a homo- 

 geneous mass, and when the evening begins to draw on, the contents of the bottle are found to 



