CONCERNING BEARS. 



285 



Next to the grizzly's cage is that of the black bear ( Vrsus Ameri- 

 canus). It contains several animals of both sexes. One of the males 

 is a very fine specimen, being about the maximum size of his species, 

 five and six feet in length. His coat is a glossy black, the hairs being 

 much shorter than those of his neighbor. On his cheek the hair as- 

 sumes a brownish hue. His head is much smaller in proportion to his 

 body than is the grizzly's, it is also narrower, and shows a more de- 

 cided convexity of facial outline. The muzzle is longer and narrower 

 in proportion to the size of the head. The limbs are far less massive 

 and proportionally longer, the feet smaller, and the claws decidedly 

 shorter and more crooked. His eyes, too, are larger, and he has, 

 instead of the savage, rather a mild and good-humored aspect. In 

 keeping with his appearance, he displays a decided disposition to be 

 sociable, and readily puts his nose through the bars to receive frag- 

 ments of cake or other delicacies that are offered him by the children. 

 Vegetable substances constitute his principal food, although he is 

 occasionally driven by hunger to steal a pig. Sometimes he has been 

 known to attack and kill even a cow. He is a noted depredator on 

 maize and melon fields ; honey is his delight. He is a great climber, 



Fig. 3. Cinnamon Bear (Ursi/s occidentalis). 



and an assiduous searcher for " bee-trees," which he no sooner finds 

 than climbs, proceeding to gnaw through the trunk to the nest of the 

 bees. As soon as an aperture large enough to admit his paw has been 

 made, honey, comb, and bees are scraped with avidity into his capa- 

 cious mouth. 



The black bear is common all over the eastern division of the 

 United States, from Maine to Florida, and in fact over a large part of 

 the Western territory. In the colder parts of this area it hibernates, 

 but the habit does not seem to be general, at least with the males in 

 the warmer parts. It is said that even in the cold latitudes it will 



