THE LARGE BEARS. 



209 



and then getting up on his hind-legs tries to 

 suffocate him in his embrace. Only in case 

 of the direst necessity does he use his teeth. 

 A blow with his paw suffices to lay a man 

 at his feet. The people of Siberia, notwith- 



standing his enormous strength, attack him in 

 the same way as the Indians do the jaguar. 

 They wrap a sheepskin round their left arm 

 and stab the bear with a dagger or cleave 

 his head with a heavy blade at the instant 





Fig. 106. The Malayan or Coco-nut Palm Bear (Ursus malayanus). page 210. 



when he stands up. But it requires a strong 

 fellow to carry on that kind of hunt. 



The Black Bear, or Black Baribal ( Ursus 

 aniericamis), fig. 105, which attains the length 

 of about 6*/2 feet at the most, is a harmless 

 creature compared with his brown cousin. A 

 sort of good-humour and fondness for gym- 

 nastic exercises on trees appear to be the 

 essential traits in his character. The glossy 

 black bristly hairs of his loose fur are so long 

 that they cover even his toes and tail and 

 give him a terrible appearance, which is not 

 borne out by his behaviour. All young bears 

 have on their breast a more or less light- 

 coloured patch shaped like a half-moon; in 

 the young of the black bear the patch is white 

 or yellow and resembles a neck-shield. In 

 the southern bears this patch persists through 



life, while in our species it mostly disappears 

 with age. 



The black bear prefers the woods, and 

 climbs from pleasure and not merely from 

 necessity. It often hides in hollow trees. 

 Almost a strict vegetarian, it nevertheless 

 attacks animals when hungry, and is not 

 embarrassed in the presence of herds and 

 flocks, but always flees from man. When 

 attacked it defends itself bravely, and since 

 it possesses great stubbornness and extra- 

 ordinary strength, it becomes dangerous when 

 wounded. It is hunted for the sake of its 

 fur and flesh. In the opinion of the Indians 

 it is the most intelligent animal in creation 

 after the beaver. It is more easily tamed 

 than our common bear, and it amuses soldiers, 

 nurse-maids, and children to an extraordinary 



27 



