BEARS. 



3i 



in their ways, being exceedingly demonstrative and ridiculous. Though hard to 

 kill, they are very soft as to their feelings, and make the most hideous outcries 

 when shot at — not only the wounded animal, but also its companions. It has 

 frequently been stated by sportsmen that if a bear be wounded he immediately 

 attacks his companions, thinking that they have caused his injuries. But I think 

 this is not quite correct, at least in the majority of cases. I have observed that a 

 wounded bear's companions generally rush to him to ascertain the cause of his 

 grief, joining the while in his cries, when he, not being in the best of humours, lays 

 hold of them, and a fight ensues, really brought about by the affectionate but ill- 

 timed solicitude of his friends." 



In commenting upon the latter portion of this passage, Mr. Blanford supports 

 the old view that the attack is made directly by the wounded animal ; and one 

 instance is mentioned where he saw a female when wounded immediately commence 

 an unprovoked attack upon her two half-grown cubs, which were severely cuffed. 

 In another case, when two full-grown bears were both hit, they stood up and fought 

 on their hind-legs, till one fell dead from the effects of the bullet. 



Although generally timid in their nature, sloth-bears will on rare occasions 

 attack human beings without provocation, and when they do so, fighting both with 

 teeth and talons, and inflicting terrible wounds, more especially on the head and 

 face. These attacks generally occur when a bear is accidentally stumbled upon by 

 a native wandering in the jungle, and are then due more to timidity than to 

 ferocity. Mr. Sanderson is of opinion that a bear, being a slow-witted animal, is 

 more likely to attack in such a case than is a tiger or a leopard, which more rapidly 

 collect their senses, and are thus less embarrassed by the sudden and unexpected 

 encounter. Mr. Blanford states that when thus surprised a sloth-bear will some- 

 times merely knock a man over with its paws, although thereby inflicting severe 

 wounds ; but on other occasions it seizes and holds in its paws its unfortunate 

 victim, who is not released until bitten and clawed to death. Females with young, 

 and occasionally solitary bears, will at times make unprovoked attacks of great 

 ferocity. The idea that sloth-bears hug their victims is scouted by both writers. 



Sloth-bears are usually hunted in India either by driving them from cover 

 with a line of beaters, or by the sportsman going to their caves or lairs among the 

 rocks at daybreak, and shooting them as they return home from their nightly 

 wanderings. Mr. Sanderson says that in the forests of Mysore he was in the habit 

 of shooting bears by following them with trackers ; and that, as they seldom left 

 off feeding before nine in the morning, it was generally possible by starting at 

 daybreak to come up with them before they had retired to rest for the day. If, 

 however, the party did not succeed in this, the bears would generally be found 

 lying asleep under the shade of a clump of bamboos, or a rock, as there were no 

 caves in the district into which they could disappear. Elephants, it appears, have 

 a great dislike to bears, and on this account, as well as from the rocky nature of 

 the country generally inhabited by these animals, are but rarely employed in bear- 

 shooting. Mr. Sanderson was also in the habit of hunting bears with large dogs, 

 and despatching them when brought to bay with his hunting-knife ; and in this 

 exciting sport was very successful. 



Regarding the sport afforded by the sloth-bear, the same hunter observes that 



