220 TYPES OF ANIMAL LIFE 



maize and nuts. At the same time the black bear is 

 the most carnivorous of the Indian bears. It kills 

 sheep, goats, deer, and even cattle and ponies, but it 

 occasionally feeds on carrion. Many natives are killed 

 or severely injured by it. Its senses are more acute 

 than are those of the brown, bear, and it is an excellent 

 swimmer. 



The single kind found in South America is called the 

 spectacled bear, from the markings round its eyes. It 

 inhabits the Peruvian Andes. The Malay bear is a 



FIG. 61. 



THE SLOTH BEAR. 



small species with a black coat, strongly curved claws, 

 small rounded ears, and a very long tongue. It is found 

 from Burmah to Borneo, where it dwells in forests, being 

 essentially frugivorous, though sometimes eating small 

 beasts and birds. The most curious of all the bears is the 

 sloth bear, an animal clothed with very long and coarse 

 black hair, with an elongated greyish snout, a white 

 horseshoe mark on the chest, and very long and curved 

 white claws. Its eccentric appearance is due not only to 

 its long, shaggy coat, but also to its peculiarly shaped 

 head, long, mobile snout, and short hind legs, and likewise 



