3G6 HABITS OF BEARS. 



her back during her travels. It is an amusing sight to see the youngsters 

 dismount at the feeding-grounds and scramble up again if anything alarms 

 them. The young are thus carried on occasions until they are several 

 months old, and so large that only one can be accommodated. I once shot 

 a she-bear carrying one young one whilst the other followed, through a 

 thicket where it was a wonder the young bear, which was as large as a 

 sheep-dog, could keep its seat. 



Bears are exceedingly affectionate animals amongst themselves, and are 

 capable of being most thoroughly tamed when taken young. Either wild 

 or tame they are very amusing in their ways, being exceedingly demon- 

 strative and ridiculous. Though hard to kill they are very soft as to their 

 feelings, and make the most hideous outcries when shot at, not only the 

 wounded animal but also its companions. It has frequently been stated 

 by sportsmen that if a bear be wounded he immediately attacks his com- 

 panions, thinking that they have caused his injuries. But I think this is 

 not quite correct, at least in the majority of cases. I have observed that a 

 wounded bear's companions generally rush to him to ascertain the cause of 

 his grief, joining the while in his cries, when he, not being in the best of 

 humours, lays hold of them, and a fight ensues, really brought about by the 

 affectionate but ill-timed solicitude of his friends. 



Bears are numerous in some parts of Mysore, especially in the jungles 

 at the foot of hill-ranges, where they find shelter in small detached hills. 

 Those in Mysore are frequently formed of granite boulders, amongst which 

 are numerous caverns and cool recesses. Bears will, however, lie out in the 

 forest, at the foot of a. bamboo-clump or shady tree, or in a thicket. They 

 retire to caves chiefly in the rains, when mosquitoes and gnats are trouble- 

 some in the thickets. In localities where they are not liable to be dis- 

 turbed, bears sometimes sleep during the day in very exposed situations, and 

 do not mind an amount of sun that would be thought disagreeable to 

 creatures with so warm a coat. They are usually in their retreats by eight 

 o'clock in the morning, and are again on the move an hour before sunset. 

 In showery, cloudy weather, especially at the commencement of the rains, 

 when they have been put to straits to obtain a livelihood during the hot 

 months, owing to the hardness of the ground preventing their digging for 

 insects, they may be found feeding throughout the day in quiet places. 



Their sight is poor, nor is their hearing particularly good, and when 

 engaged in searching for food they may be approached to within a few 

 paces. But their sense of smell is wonderfully acute ; by it they discover 

 insects deep under ground, honey in trees overhead, and are able to detect 

 a man to windward at an immense distance. 



