THE SPECTACLED BEAR. 235 



is he lazy. He is essentially the clown of 

 all bears, a very intelligent animal, and in 

 many cases the intellectual superior of his 

 keeper. He is active to a degree, and will 

 perform the queerest antics for the amuse 

 ment of the onlooker. He is quaintly con 

 scious of his mirth-provoking powers, much 

 as a child playing "smarty." He will 

 quickly climb an inclined log or tree, and 

 then slide down either in an upright posi 

 tion, clasping the log with the knees, or he 

 will slide "down the banister" as a child 

 might. I have seen the merry fellow grab 

 his tail in his mouth and roll over and over 

 until dizzy. 



His snout is almost hairless, narrow and 

 proboscis like, and the nostrils and lips are 

 mobile. He shapes these almost into a 

 pipe, through w^hich his long tongue is shot 

 out, drawing things in or sucking them up. 

 It has claws of a bluish gray that are longer 

 than those of any other of the Ursidae. The 

 hair is very long, of a deep brown black. 



There is a sunburst upon the chest of a 

 10 



