T II E B E ;.\ K S 



i i 1 



I ■ ,r~.' 



Photo h F. Lanjor] 



' F,i/m, 



SYRIAN BEAR 



Thii is the hear generally alluded to in the Old Testament 



winter, and in greal demand 

 for rich Russians' sledge rugs. 



The finest hear skins of all are 



bought for the caps of the 



Grenadier and Coldstream 



( iuards. In the Alps the hears 



occasionally visit a cow shed 



in winter and kill a COW : hut 



as a rule the only damage done 



by those in Europe is to the 



sheep on the hills in the 



far north of Norway. Tame 



brown bears are amusing 



creatures, but should never he 



trusted. They are always 



liable to turn savage, and the 



bite is almost as severe as that 



of a tiger. Men have had 



their heads completely crushed 



in by the bite of one of these 



animals, in Russia hears are shot in the following manner. When the snow falls, the bears 



retire into the densest thickets, and then- make a half-hut. half-burrow in the most tangled 



part to hibernate in. The hear is tracked, and then a ring made round the cover by heaters 



and peasants. The shooters follow the track and rouse the hear, which often charges them, 



and is forthwith shot. If it escapes, it is driven in by the heaters outside. High fees are 



paid to peasants who send information that a hear is harboured in this way. Sportsmen in 



Petrograd will go 300 or 400 miles to shoot one on receipt of a telegram. 



^^^^^^^mmm vwrr-r- - -— A Siberian peasant who wished to do a little hunt- 



V V ' n g (,n his own account had a lively adventure. The 



-„* Li hear had the best of it. knocked him down, and so 



AMKm frightfully mangled his arm that he fainted. Bruin 



then buried him in orthodox bear fashion ; and the 

 man. when he came to. which he fortunately did 

 before the bear came back, got up, and made his way 

 to the village. There he was for a long time ill. and 

 all through his sickness and delirium talked of noth- 

 ing hut shooting the bear. When he got well, he 

 disappeared into the forest with his gun. and after 

 a short absence returned with the bear's skin! 



The Syrian Bear. 



This bear, which figures in the story of Elisha, 

 is a variety of the brown bear. It is found from 

 the Caucasus to the mountains of Palestine, and is 

 a -mailer animal than the true brown bear, weigh- 

 ing about 300 lbs. The fur in summer is of a mixed 

 rusty colour, with a whitish collar on the chest. It 

 steals the grapes on Mount Horeb, and feeds upon 

 ripe fruits, apples, chestnuts, corn, and the like. It 

 is then ready to face the long winter sleep. 



Photo h If. D. Daido] [Regent's Part 



LARGE RUSSIAN BROWN BEAR 



The picture shows to ivhat a si-ze and strength the 

 Jfoiun bear attains 



