426 JOURNAL BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 1891 



THE SOCIETY'S JOURNAL. 

 The Honorary Secretary stated, in reply to numerous enquiries, that all the back 

 numbers of the Society's Journal are still available, and could be purchased by mem- 

 bers at Re. 1-4 each. As in a few years a complete set of the Journal would in all 

 probability be of considerable value, owing to the expensive plates which they now 

 contained, members were recommended to see that their files are complete, and to 

 replace any numbers which might be missing while they are still procurable. 



A MAN-KILLING BEAR. * 

 Mr. Reginald Gilbert read an interesting account of a she-bear which had attacked 

 and seriously injured four or five persons, in the State of Dharampore, during the last 

 year. Mr. Gilbert and Mr. E. L. Barton succeeded in killing the bear and her two 

 cubs on the 24th May last, on which day she had, without any provocation, attacked 

 and killed a man while he was lying on the ground smoking. It was found on examin- 

 ing the bear that the bone of her forearm had been splintered some time before, and 

 that the bullet was still in the flesh. The wound had closed; but as there was a good 

 deal of inflammation, it had probably given her much pain, and was no doubt the 

 cause of her man-killing proclivities. 



PROTECTIVE RESEMBLANCES. 

 Mr. "W. E. Hart read a paper by Mrs. Hart on the above subject, dwelling parti- 

 cularly on the similarity in appearance borne by creatures of one species to those of 

 another which enjoy immunity from attack by reason of some peculiar quality not 

 possessed by their imitators. Mr. Hart illustrated Mrs. Hart's paper with examples 

 taken from the Society's collection of butterflies, and demonstrated, with much clear- 

 ness, this curious result of evolution which exists more particularly in the insect 



world. 



A PANTHER EATING A PANTHER- f 



The next paper was by Mr. E. L. Barton, containing an account of an incident 

 which occurred in Ceylon some years ago, when a female panther was eaten by 

 another (presumably a male) after it had been wounded by a bullet while they were 

 apparently engaged in fighting. The question which remained to be settled was 

 whether the struggle, which was observed, was a fight between two hungry animals 

 of the same species, with the ultimate intention of the victor making a meal off the 

 vanquished, or whether it was only a lover's quarrel which, ending in death, had fur- 

 nished the male with food. 



THE MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS. J 

 The Honorary Secretary read a paper by Mr. E. H. Aitken, containing an important 

 suggestion that the Ornithological Committee of the Society should invite the co- 

 operation of members in different parts of the country in order that the migrations of 

 various birds from one part of India to another might be observed and recorded. 

 Several instances were given, such as the common green bea-eater (Merops viridis) 



* See page 276 

 f See page 274 

 X See page 268 



