J/^"-n Xethercote, Girls' Camp at National Park. 131 



Although he Uved up a sugar gum for the first few months 

 of his Hawthorn Ufe, he refused to touch it — even the tender 

 young tops — and every evening would come down and eat his 

 full-grown gum-leaves gathered from trees along Gardiner's 

 Creek and the Yarra. Peppermint and messmate are also his 

 aversion, while he enjoys white gum, apple box, and stringy- 

 bark, and (in moderation) blue gum. 



I cannot say that this is the rule with all native bears, for 

 a friend told me of one that refused any other variety than 

 sugar gum, while another lived for three years on peppermint ; 

 but the fact remains that with Dincombe you can mix the 

 varieties and he will carefully go over them, and eat the same 

 kinds each time ; or, if you give him nothing but sugar gum 

 and peppermint, you will find them untouched, and a sulky 

 Dincombe will look at you from the fork of a tree above, or 

 he may run down and dig his two front teeth into your shoulder 

 to announce the fact that he is hungry, and that the gum-leaves 

 in the tin are suitable only for table decoration — as food they 

 aren't fit for bears. Since leaving the Promontory he has 

 lived entirely on gum-leaves, and has never taken any fluid. 



The toes on the hind feet differ from those on the fore feet, 

 which have five toes, with a claw on each. The hind feet have 

 the same number of toes, but the fourth is double, with two 

 claws, the fifth toe having no claw. 



When first caught he had the curious sharp yap of a baby 

 bear, but during the last couple of months the grown-up grunt 

 has been developing, usually in a drowsy condition after a good 

 meal, when he will point his nose skywards and begin like a 

 subdued snore ; it becomes louder and louder until, as someone 

 said, it rumbles from the very soles of his boots. 



Koalas are not such senseless little animals as they are 

 supposed to be. He is quick in picking out direction and 

 alteration, while back will go his ears and up the tree he will go 

 like a shot at the sound of a strange voice, while a call from us 

 will bring him trundling down. There is quite a lot one could 

 tell about his funny ways. Ah ! here he is, climbing up the 

 back of my chair on to my shoulder. I must go and get him 

 $ome tea, else the busybody poke-nose of his will be in the 

 ink. 



[The paper was illustrated by a large series of lantern views. 

 It may be useful for reference to record here previous articles 

 in the Naturalist on Wilson's Promontory : — April, 1905, xxi., 

 p. 128 (history) ; April, 1906, xxii., p. 191 (camp-out, with 

 illustrations) ; Feb., 1909, xxv., p. 142 (with map) : Jan., 1910, 

 xxvi., p. 129 ; Jan., 1911, xxvii., p. 178 ; March, 1911, xxvii., 

 p.*2o8 : May, 1913, xxix., p. 163 (wdth illustrations) : and Feb., 

 1915, xxxi., p. 143. — Ed. Vict. Nat.] 



