Ursus. fue 
or Melursus labiatus only, and the skulls of this species in my posses- 
sion strongly exhibit this peculiarity.* The cylindrical bones resemble 
those of man nearer than any other animal, the femur especially ; 
and a skinned bear has a most absurd resemblance to a robust 
human being. The sole of the hind foot leaves a mark not unlike that 
of a human print. 
The Brown Bear of Europe (Ursus arctos) is the type of the family, 
and has been known from the earliest ages—I may say safely prehistoric 
ages, for its bones have been frequently found in post-pliocene formations 
along with those of other animals of which some are extinct. An extinct 
species of bear, Ursus speleus, commonly called the Cave Bear, seems 
to have ,been the ancestor of the Brown Bear which still is found in 
various parts of Europe, and is said to have been found within historic 
times in Great Britain. 
The bear of which we have the oldest record is almost the same as 
our Indian Brown or Snow Bear. Our bear (U. Ssabellinus) is but a 
variety of U. Syriacus, which was the one slain by David, and is spoken 
of in various parts of the Bible. It is the nearest approach we have to 
the European U. arctos. 
No. 163. Ursus ISABELLINUS. 
The Himalayan Brown Bear ( Jerdon's No. 89). 
NativE Name.—Barf-ka-rich or Bhalu, Vind.; Harput, Kashmiri ; 
Drin-mor, Ladakhi. 
' DeEscripTion.—A yellowish-brown colour, varying somewhat accord- 
ing to sex and time of year. Jerdon says: “In winter and spring the 
fur is long and shaggy, in some inclining to silvery grey, in others to 
reddish brown ; the hair is thinner and darker in summer as the season 
advances, and in autumn the under fur has mostly disappeared, and a 
white collar on the chest is then very apparent. The cubs show this 
collar distinctly. The females are said to be lighter in colour than the 
males.” 
Gray does not agree in the theory that Ursus Syriacus is the same as 
this species ; in external appearance he says it is the same, but there are 
differences in the skull; the nose is broader, and the depression in the 
forehead less. The zygomatic arch is wider and stronger ; the lower 
jaw stronger and higher, and the upper tubercular grinders shorter and 
thicker than in Ursus Lsabellinus. 
* On referring to Mr. Sanderson’s interesting book, ‘Thirteen Years among the 
Wild Beasts of India,’ and General Shakespear’s ‘ Wild Sports,’ I find that both 
those authors corroborate my assertion that the sloth bear is deficient in the sense of 
hearing. Captain Baldwin, however, thinks otherwise ; but the evidence seems to be 
against him in this respect. 
