Game Animals of India, etc. 



a nearly black transversely elliptical patch above the 

 shoulder-blades. Over the rest of the body the hair 

 is mingled black and white, so as to present a bluish 

 tinge ; and the hind-legs are similarly coloured, although 

 the lower halves of the fore-limbs are almost completely 

 black. The claws, which are of moderate length, are 

 white. 



The structure of the skeleton seems to indicate that 

 this bear is specifically distinct from the brown bear ; 

 but there is some doubt whether it ought to bear the 

 name Ursus pruiftosus, and if this doubt be confirmed, it 

 should be known as U. lagomyarius — a name applied by 

 Colonel Przewalski to a bear from Tibet. Information 

 is required as to the size attained by this bear, the 

 specimen in the British Museum being not quite 

 mature. 



Probably the blue bear is found in the forest- 

 districts in the neighbourhood of Lhasa, but on this 

 point, as well as in regard to its habits, there is no 

 information. 



A noticeable feature of this bear is the curious 

 approximation it makes to the type of coloration ob- 

 taining in the short-tailed panda of the same country. 

 This is especially shown by the presence of the pure 

 white band on the hind part of the nape of the neck, 

 followed by the black patch between the shoulder- 

 blades, and less so by the tendency to blackness on the 

 ears and crown of the head. Possibly this similarity 

 in the colouring of the two may be due to their living 

 under similar conditions. 



In 1897 the writer had the opportunity of seeing 

 a bear-skin obtained by Mr. Neil Malcolm in Tibet, 

 which is described in the Proceedings of the Zoological 

 Society for that year. This skin differs considerably 

 from that of the blue bear, showing much less white on 

 the back and shoulders, and having black (instead of 

 nearly white) ears. It has a rufous band down the 

 middle of the back, which is not observable in the latter. 



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