ORDER CARNIVORA: CARNIVORES 219 



stronghold of the British bears. Bears were transported from Britain 

 to Rome, probably in the fourth century. After the extinction of 

 the species in Britain, foreign animals were imported for the pur- 

 pose of "bear-baiting." This was done in the reigns of Henry II, 

 Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Anne. Queen Elizabeth 

 entertained the French Ambassador and the Danish Ambassador 

 at different times with such a spectacle. (Harting, 1880, pp. 11-29.) 



Many place names in Wales afford evidence of the former occur- 

 rence of bears. Boyd Dawkins thinks that they became extinct in 

 Britain before the tenth century. Bell, in his British Quadrupeds, 

 says that they may have existed in Scotland as late as 1073, but 

 tradition gives the latest date as 1057. (Millais, 1904, pp. 236-237.) 



Norway. According to Collett, the bear was numerous about 

 1750 and did great damage to the cattle all over the country, but 

 during the following 150 years the numbers were reduced owing to 

 improved firearms and to high rewards paid for animals shot (Hj. 

 Broch, in litt., December, 1936). 



Bowden states (1869, p. 4) that "the Brown Bear ... is pretty 

 common in all parts of this country, especially in Nordland and the 

 central districts." 



"The average number that is killed yearly amounts to ... 250" 

 (Barnard, 1871, p. 262). 



"The number of bears in Norway is now beyond doubt very small. 

 ... A conservative estimate would be that there are not more 

 than 20-25 bears in Norway south of the Trondhjem Fjord. In the 

 northern parts the number is beyond doubt also very small, chiefly 

 consisting of stray bears from Sweden and Finland. . . . 



"We have done everything in our power to attempt a protection 

 sufficient to stop the extinction which obviously threatens the species 

 in this country. But all attempts have been without avail, as it 

 cannot be denied that the bears occasionally do some damage to 

 sheep .... 



"We have attempted the establishment of a reservation in certain 

 forest tracts owned partly by private owners and partly by the 

 government. But the project has until now failed." (Harald Platou, 

 in Hit., November 22, 1932.) 



By a law of 1932 the bear may be killed only from May 15 

 to November 1. Previously "the bear, being considered a pest, re- 

 ceived no protection at all. In fact there was a premium for killing 

 him .... 



"This recent protection ... is due to the efforts of the Norwegian 

 Association for Hunting and Fishing, which endeavored to induce 

 the Storting to protect the bear all the year round. The Association 

 had even collected money which it offered to place at the disposal 

 of the Norwegian Department of Agriculture to compensate for 



