74 URSID.E. 



perform various antics. Their pursuit is a favourite sport among Europeans 

 in India, and now and then a daring sportsman gets mauled severely by a 

 wounded bear, whilst many others have had a narrow escape of a close 

 embrace of their grisly foe. In the extreme south of India, among the 

 Polygars of the hills, bears used to be hunted by strong fierce dogs, and 

 when held at bay by them, the native sportsmen each thrust a long bamboo 

 loaded with strong birdlime into the shaggy coat of their quarry, and thus 

 firmly held their struggling prey ; this practice I understand has of 

 of late years almost fallen into disuse." 



The huge Polar bear, U. maritimus, L., is the type of Thcdarctos of 

 Gray. There are some bears on the Andes in South America. 



The only other form belonging to the Bears which inhabits our province 

 is the following remarkable animal, and which diftiers sufficiently to have 

 been classed by Gray in a sub-family, Ailurina. 



Gen. AiLURUS, F. Cuvier. 



g 5 5 



Char. — Incisors - ; molars . The crowns of the posterior molars 



6 6 — 6 



furnished with salient but truncated tubercles ; head sub-globose, broad ; 

 cheeks tumid ; ears short, acute, distant, hairy ; eyes well in front near 

 the nose ; tail equal to the body, cylindric, with long spreading hair ; soles 

 clad with fine down ; claws falcate, compressed, sharp, partly retractile. 

 This curious genus has been considered to have points of resemblance 

 to Badgers and Racoons, and also to C^rcoleptes, and by some even has 

 been compared in external appearance with certain Lemurs ; but there is 

 no doubt that its nearest affinities are with the Bears, whilst it has one 

 or two points of affinity with the Felince or Viverrince, viz., its semi- 

 retractile talons, and the structure of its genital organs. There is only 

 one known species. 



92. Ailurus fulgens. 



F. Cuvier, Mamm. III. pi. 52. — Blyth, Cat. 219.— Hardwicke, Lin. 

 Trans. XV. 161. — A. oc/iracews, Hodgson. — Wdh, of Nej)al. — Wdh-donha, 

 Bhot. — Sunna/in or Suk-nam, Lepch. — Negali/a jwnya, of the ISTepalese. 



The Ued Cat-bear. 



Bescr. — Above deep ochreous-red ; head and tail paler, and somewhat 

 fulvous, displayed on the tail in rings ; fiice, chin, and ears within white ; 

 ears externally, all the lower surface and the entire limbs and tip of taiJ 



