Black Bear 



sumed the same attitude toward man in this country that the 

 brown bear has in Europe, the last of his race would have 

 been shot in the days of our grandfathers. 



Except in early spring, black bears live principally upon 

 vegetable food; blueberries are their favourite diet, though fruit 

 of any kind seems to suit them well enough. 



They also dig for roots and bugs, and catch grasshoppers 

 and crickets in the grass. 



When there is plenty of such food to be had, they will, it 

 is said, pass the newly killed carcass of a deer or a sheep 

 without noticing it. 



This, however, probably depends a good deal on the indi- 

 vidual, some of them being always fond of meat. Like all bears, 

 they are passionately fond of honey and very clever at finding 

 bee-trees. When a bear has discovered a bee-tree he courage- 

 ously attacks it with teeth and claws, endeavouring to enlarge 

 the opening sufficiently to enable him to reach the honey. But 

 the stings of the enraged insects about his nose and mouth 

 cause him to stop frequently. If the bear is at work at the 

 foot of the tree, he can roll on the ground in order to get rid 

 of his tormentors when the pain becomes too severe, but if 

 he is high up on the trunk he can only rub them off against 

 the bark and hold his ground, knowing it will not be 

 long after the honeycomb is broken into before :' the bees will 

 leave him in peace, each hastening to fill its honey-bags before 

 it is too late. Black bears hibernate throughout the winter, 

 stowing themselves away in hollow trees and caves among the 

 rocks. In the extreme north of this range they follow the ex- 

 ample of the polar bear, curling up in a cave or hollow where 

 the drifting snow will bury them and keep them warm until 

 spring. When they come out at the end of the winter the 

 skin on the feet cracks and peels off, leaving them soft and 

 tender. 



They now have rather a hard time of it for a few weeks; 

 for food is scarce and difficult to get even for an animal in the 

 best condition; and to be handicapped with sore feet and 

 weakened by a four-months' fast at the same time is hard luck. 



They now roam the woods in the hope of finding some 

 animal or bird uncovered by the melting of the snow, and sniff 

 for newly awakened snakes and bugs around mossy old stumps 



2«;8 



