Ursus. IIg 
-Descriprion.—General shape of the ursine type, but more than 
usually ungainly and awkward. Hair very long and shaggy, all black, 
with the exception of a white V-shaped mark on the chest, and dirty 
whitish muzzle and tips to its feet ; snout prolonged and flexible ; claws 
very large. 
SizE.—A large animal of this species will measure from five to six 
feet in length, and stand nearly three feet high, weighing from fifteen to 
twenty stones. 
Our old friend is so well known that he hardly requires description, 
and the very thought of him brings back many a ludicrous and exciting 
scene of one’s jungle days. There is frequently an element of comicality 
Ursus labiatus. 
in most bear-hunts, as well as a considerable spice of danger; for, 
though some people may pooh-pooh this, I know that a she-bear with 
cubs is no despicable antagonist. Otherwise the male is more anxious 
to get away than to provoke an attack. 
This bear does not hibernate at all, but is active all the year round. 
In the hot weather it lies all day in cool caves, emerging only at night. 
In March and April, when the mowa-tree is in flower, it revels in the 
luscious petals that fall from the trees, even ascending the branches to 
shake down the coveted blossoms. The mohwa (Bassia latifolia) well 
merits a slight digression from our subject. It is a large-sized umbra- 
geous tree, with oblong leaves from four to eight inches long, and two to 
