BEARS. 21 



white ; while the upper lip may be whitish, and the nose reddish-brown. The 

 claws are comparatively short, and black in colour. 



Mr. Blanford gives the weight of full-grown males as varying from 200 to 

 250 lbs. ; but these weights are probably exceeded in autumn, when the Himalayan 





THE HIMALAYAN BLACK BEAR (j 1 , uat. size). 



black bear becomes enormously fat, the thickness of the fat on the haunches 

 reaching several inches. At such seasons the skin — never very valuable— becomes 

 utterly useless, from being saturated with oil. The skull of this bear has a 

 relatively shorter muzzle and a longer portion behind the eye than that of the 

 brown bear ; from which it may also be distinguished by the slight development 

 of the bony ridge along the middle of the brain-case. 



