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ralists.* Meyer called it a Melurstis ; and Fischer a Ckon- 

 drorhynchus. It is the Brady pus ursinus of Shaw, though 

 it bears no relation to the true sloths either in structure or 

 habits ; the Ursus labiatus of M. Blainville ; and the Ursus 

 longirostris of Tiedemann ; the Ours paresseux, and Ours 

 jongleur of the French, and Await of the Mahrattas. The 

 short limbs, the depressed air of the head, surmounted by 

 the hillock of a back, and the whole contour of the ap- 

 parently unwieldy mass, give the idea of deformity, and 

 make it a favourite with the Indian mountebanks or jug- 

 glers, who rely on the attraction of its ugliness. 



[Ursua (Prochilus) labiatus/] 



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

 lips of considerable protrusion, as may be seen if the spec- 

 tutor 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 leeC is whitish or yel- 

 .1. The forehoad rises almost abruptly from the muzzle. 

 The fur, with the exceptions above noticed and that next 

 mentioned, is deep '..lack, with here awl there some brown 

 spots, and is rattier long, particularly round tl> head in old 

 individuals. Upon the under side at the nock and br< 

 a white mark, ri-bt-nibling the letters V or Y. In bulk it is 

 about the tire of the brown bear. 



The food of this species IH a state of nature is said to con- 1 

 sist of fruits, honey, and the while ants, which are so de- 

 structive. It inhabits the mountaios parts of India, where 

 its retreat is stated to be in *i*iue caieru. Major (now j 

 Culouel) Sykes noticed it in Dukiisn (L>ece*n). 



la captivity it appears to be mild, but melancholy. A 

 pair were kept for some time in the garden of the Zoological 

 Society, and one still survives. They lived very sociably, 

 and oi'ten lay huddled together, uttering a kind of rattling 

 but low whine, or purring, which was continuous and mono- 

 tonous, but not entirely unmusical : indeed it was termed, 

 by more than one who heard k, tbeir song. The paw was 

 generally at the mouth when they made this noise*. 



Submenus Helarctot. 



Lady Banks received, as n present, in 1819, a Malayan 

 . which was brought from Bencooleu. This individual 

 was examined by l*r. Leach, but it does not appear that his 

 description, it' he wrote aay, was ever published. In 1821 

 Sir StamJ'ord Rallies gave, in the 13th volirme of the Trans- 

 action of the Linnean Society, hw interesting account of 

 the species, under the name of Ursug Malayanus. Soon 

 afterwards Dr. Horsfield described it as it is found in Su- 

 matra, by the same name. 



The arrival of another species from Borneo, in or about 

 the year 1825, agreeing with the former in the arrangement 

 of the teeth, the extensibility of the lips, the great length of 

 the tongue, the shortness and smoothness of the fur, and 

 other characters, induced Dr. Horsfield to institute the sub- 

 's above mentioned. ' The range of both species,' says 

 Dr. Horsfield, ' appears to be limited to within a few degrees 

 of the equator.' 



Malayan RPUT. This species, the Bruan* of the Malays, 



Rallies, PrnchilusMcuaufmutof Gray, 



relax Mataytmut of Ilufeliuld, is jet-black, with the 



muzzle of a yellowish tint, and has a semilunar white mark 

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

 prepared specimen which he had examined measured four 

 feet six inches along the back. 



[Ursos (Helarctos) Malayanus.] 



The sagacity of the Malayan bear is said to be great, and 

 its liking tor delicacies extreme. The honey of the indige- 

 nous bees of its native forests is supposed to be a favourite 

 food ; and certainly the extreme length of the tongue is 

 well adapted for feuding 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 

 Rattles 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 

 Rallies thus describes the manners of one which appears to 

 have been deservedly a great favourite. 



' When taken young,' writes Sir Stamford in l\\e Linnean 

 Transactions, ' they become very tame. One lived for two 

 years in my possession. He was brought up in live nursery 

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

 frequently the case, gave a proof of liis taste by refusing to 

 eat any fruit but mangosteens, or to drink any wine but 

 champagne. The only time I ever knew him to he out of 

 humour was on an weapon when no champagne was forth- 

 coming. It was naturally of an affectionate disposition, 

 and it was never found neceatary to chain or chastise him. 

 It was usual for this bear. <tibe cat, the dog, and a small 

 blue mountain Wrd or lory f Kam Holland, to mess to- 

 gether, and eat out of the none Hsk'. His favourite play- 

 fellow was the dog, whose teasing Mid wwrying was always 

 borne and returned with the -utmost good humour and play- 

 fulness. As he grew p he became & very powerful animal, 

 and in his rambles in. Ac gar&B he wevid lay hold of tho 

 largest plantains, the stems of -which fce ewflu scarcely em- 

 brace, and tear them ap fcy the roots.' 



There is an individual in the garden of the Zoological 

 Society in the Regent's Park. The specimen presented to 

 Lady Banks is preserved in the British Museum. 



M. Lesson considers this species to be identical with tho 

 sloth-bear, Prochiius labial us. We cannot agree with him, 

 and we have had the best opportunities of examining both, 

 while alive and after death. Few species of bear are, in our 

 opinion, more distinct. 



Bornean Bear, This, the Helarctos Eurytpilas of Hors- 

 field, differs from the Malayan bear principally in having a 

 large orange-coloured patch, deeply notched at its upper 

 part, upon the chest. In size it is supposed to be rather 

 less than the last. The iir ich was exhibited in 



the Tower of London, and from which Dr. U or- field wrote 

 his description, measured, along the . mu/zlo to 



tail, three feet nine inches. It was obtained in Borneo 

 when very young, and during the voynsre was the con- 

 stant associate of a monkey and oilier auioials. In confine- 

 ment its manners greatly re tbos* of the Malayan 

 bear. Its habits in a state -of nature do not appear to be 

 known, but are most probably similar to those of the Ma- 



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