306 

 THE BLACK BEAR. 



William Pittman Lett. 



Read IJflli December, 1SS5. 



The Mack bear {Ursus Aniericanus), is a native of the Ottawa 

 Valley, as of nearly all the wooded parts of North America; except, 

 [)erhaps, the south-western portion of the cortinent. This animal, in 

 a mature st ite, has three incisors, one ^canine tooth, or tusk, and six 

 molars, in each side of the upper jaw, and three incisors, one canine 

 and seven molars in each side of the lower jaw. I quote the following 

 description from the "Canadian Naturalist and Geologist," which, from 

 personal observation, I find to be correct : — 



"The black bear has very short legs, a somewhat bulky but 

 flexible body, a long head, slightly arched from the nose over the fore- 

 head, small eyes and ears high, oval and rounded at the tips. The 

 soles of the feet are short, the hairs )>rojecting slightly beyond the 

 claws, which are short, blunt and somewhat cui-ved. The tail is very 

 short and the fur is long, g'ossy and soft. The general colour is black, 

 but sometimes varies to brown or yellowish at certain seasons. The 

 sides of the nose are of a fawn colour, and there is sometimes a small 

 white spot on the forehead and throat. The length of the animal is 

 from four to six feet, and large ones, when fat in autumn, weigh from 

 three to five hundred pounds. The female brings forth two cubs in the 

 winter, or at sometime before the hibernating retreat is deserted." 



To the foregoing description I would add, that the young of the 

 black bear are jn-oduced during the month of March ; and also, the 

 siijgular circumstance attested by all hunters, that before, or after the 

 hibernating season, no she bear has ever been killed showing any evi- 

 ilt'uce of being in a gravid state. 



For such a large animal, the cubs of the l;lack bear are exceedingly 

 small. Some that I have seen, apparently a couple of days old, were 

 not any laigor than kittens of the same age. Natui'alists have been 

 puzzled to account for the singularly diminutive size of the cubs. No 

 reasonable conjecture of the cause can be formed from the anatomical 



