Game Animals of India, etc. 



not even its best friend could say that it was a comely 

 or graceful creature. 



This bear is somewhat smaller than the black 

 Himalayan species, the length from the muzzle to the 

 root of the tail varying from about 4|- feet to ^^ feet. 

 The tail is, however, longer than in other bears, 

 measuring from 4 to 5 inches in length, exclusive of 

 the long hair with which it is clothed. About 280 

 pounds appears to be the average weight of old males 

 in good condition ; but one enormous specimen, 

 which was probably unusually fat, is stated to have 

 scaled 320 pounds. 



The sloth-bear is one of the comparatively few 



large mammals restricted to peninsular India and 



Ceylon,^ its range in the former country extending 



from near the foot of the Himalaya to Cape Comorin, 



and as far west as Kutch and Kathiawar, althouP:h 



. ... . " 



farther north its range is limited by the Indian desert. 



It is known to occur in Eastern and Northern Bengal, 

 but whether it penetrates into Assam has yet to be de- 

 monstrated. Its fossilised remains have been discovered 

 in a cave in the Karnul district of Madras, and the 

 skull of a nearly allied extinct species has been obtained 

 from the Siwalik Hills ; no other representative of the 

 genus Melursus being at present known. 



Although in general somewhat timid and retiring, 

 the sloth-bear occasionally makes ferocious and un- 

 provoked attacks on man, when it inflicts terrible 

 wounds with its long talons, usually on the head and 

 face. Such wounds are, however, more frequently 

 recovered from than those received from the tiger. 

 When such unprovoked attacks are made they generally 

 arise from the bear being suddenly surprised, and 

 not knowing how to escape ; and as these animals are 



^ In the absence of corroborative evidence, the capture of a young bear 

 in Pegu, stated to have only four upper incisors, can scarcely be regarded 

 as sufficient to prove the occurrence of this species to the east of the Bay of 

 Bengal. * 



