403 



BEAR. 



BEAR. 



410 



stranger, who was loaded with a bundle of dry wood, flying from an 

 enraged bear, whereupon Godfrey gallantly went to the rescue, and 

 the bear turning upon him he was unhorsed, the horse being woxmded 

 by the bear, and fought on foot, when, after a severe struggle, in 

 which he received a most dangerous wound (" vulnus fere letiferum"), 

 he buried his sword up to the hilt in his savage adversary, and killed 

 him. The historian, in continuation, relates the great joy of the 

 army at Godfrey's recovery. ( ' Hist, of England,' torn. ii. p. 34, folio, 

 London, 1640.) 



Syrian Bear (I'rna Syriaciu}. 



The Syrian Bear frequently preys on animals, but for the most part 

 feeds on vegetables. The fields of Cicer arietiniu (a kind of chick-pea), 

 and other crops near the snowy region, are often laid waste by it. 



The skin is sometimes fulvous brown, and, as has been stated, 

 sometimes fulvous white, varied with fulvous spots. These changes 

 are supposed to have been occasioned by the abrasion of the long hair, 

 whereby the woolly fur beneath and that of the head become exposed. 

 Two very fine specimens of this species, a male and female, are living 

 in the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park. 



V. latiatui (tfelursus Lykitis, Meyer), Labiated Bear or Sloth Bear. 

 This uncouth animal, on its arrival in Europe about sixty years ago, 



Sloth IVar (I'rnu lakialut). 



was taken for a Sloth and obtained the name of Brailyp 113 pelatJitrli/!n.t 



minus, Five-Fingered Sloth, Sloth Bear, or Ursine Sloth. By 



the two last names it was formerly shown in menageries ; and 



Bewick gave an excellent portrait of it in his 'Quadruped*,' as "an 



animal which has hitherto escaped the attention of naturalists." 



Moyer called it a ifelurnu ; and Fischer a C'handror/iynchus. It is 



the Brcuh/pu ursimtt of Shaw (though it bears no relation to the true 



sloths either in structure or habits) ; the (,'rttu labiatn* of Ue 



Blainville ; and the Urnu lonyirostria of Tiedemann ; the Ours 



nix and Ours Jongleur of the French. The short limbs, the 



ir of thu head, surmounted by the hillock of a buck, and 



the whole contour of the apparently unwieldy mass, give the idea of 

 deformity, and make it a favourite with the Indian mountebanks or 

 jugglers, who rely much on the attraction of its ugliness. 



The cartilage of the nose is capable of extension, and the lips of 

 considerable protrusion, as may be seen if the spectator hold a morsel 

 of fruit or biscuit at a proper distance for exciting the animal to exert 

 this faculty. The muzzle is elongated, and, with the ends of the 

 feet, is whitish or yellowish. The forehead rises almost abruptly 

 from the muzzle. The fur, with the exceptions above noticed and 

 that next mentioned, is deep black, with here and there some brown 

 spots, and is rather long, particularly round the head in old indi- 

 viduals. Upon the under Bide of the neck and breast is a white mark 

 resembling the letters V or Y. In bulk it is about the size of the 

 Brown Bear. 



The food of this species in a state of nature is said to consist of 

 fruits, honey, and the white ants, which are so destructive. It 

 inhabits the mountainous parts of India, where its retreat is stated 

 to be in some cavern. Major (now Colonel) Sykes noticed it in 

 Dukhun (Deccan). 



In captivity it appears to be mild, but melancholy. A pair were 

 kept for some time in the garden of the Zoological Society. They 

 lived very sociably, and often lay huddled together, uttering a kind 

 of rattling but low whine, or purring, which was continuous and 

 monotonous, but not entirely unmusical : indeed, by more than one 

 who heard it, it was termed their song. The paw was generally at 

 the mouth when they made this noise. A living specimen is still to 

 be seen in the Zoological Gardens. 



U. Malayanus, Raffles (Helarctos Malayanus, Horsfield), the 

 Malayan Bear; the Bruang of the Malays, is jet-black, with the 

 muzzle of a yellowish tint, and has a Bemilunar white mark upon 

 the breast. Dr. Horsfield observes, that the largest prepared 

 specimen which he had examined measured 4 feet 6 inches along the 

 back. 



Malayan Sun-Hear (VrsuA lleliircttt* Malayamis}. 



The sagacity of the Malayan Bear is said to be great, and its liking 

 for delicacies extreme. The honey of the indigenous bees of its 

 native forests is supposed to be a favourite food ; and certainly the 

 extreme length of the tongue is well adapted for feeding on it. 

 Vegetables form the chief diet of this bear, and it is said to be 

 attracted to the vicinity of man by its fondness for the young shoots 

 of the cocoa-nut trees, to which it is very injurious ; indeed Sir 

 Stamford Raffles found those of the deserted villages in the Passumah 

 district of Sumatra destroyed by it. It has not unfrequently been 

 taken and domesticated. 



In confinement it is mild and sagacious. Sir Stamford Raffles thus 

 describes the manners of one which appears to have been deservedly 

 a great favourite : 



" When taken young," he says, " they become very tame. One lived 

 for two years in my possession. He was brought up in the nursery 

 with the children ; and, when admitted to my table, as was frequently 

 the case, gave a proof of his taste by refusing to cat any fruit but 

 mangosteens, or to drink any wine but champagne. The only time I 

 ever knew him to be out of humour was on an occasion when no 

 champagne was forthcoming. It was naturally of an affectionate 

 disposition, and it was never found necessary to chain or chastise him. 

 It was usual for this bear, the cat, the dog, and a small blue mountain 

 bird or lory of New Holland, to mess together, and eat out of the 

 same dish. His favourite playfellow was the dog, whose teasing and 

 worrying was always borne and returned with the utmost good 

 humour and playfulness. As he grew up he became a very powerful 

 animal, and in his rambles in the garden he would lay hold of the 

 largest plantains, the stems of which he could scarcely embrace, n<5 

 tear them up by the roots." 



