ORDER CARNIVORA: CARNIVORES 231 



species has been obtained for nearly a century, and it is very prob- 

 ably extinct. 



An adult female was smaller than the American Black Bear but 

 more robustly formed and with a shorter and broader face, though 

 the muzzle was pointed; toes and claws remarkably short; hair 

 black or brownish black, shaggy, 4 or 5 inches long; muzzle black; 

 under parts orange-rufous (Blyth, 1841, p. 65) . 



Pliny, though skeptical himself, quoted Roman annals to the 

 effect that Domitius Ahenobarbus, an aedile of 61 B. C., had shown 

 in the Roman arena a hundred Numidian bears, conducted by as 

 many Ethiopian hunters. The bear of Libya was mentioned by 

 Pliny's contemporaries, Juvenal and Martial, and a long time pre- 

 viously by Virgil. (G. Cuvier, 1825, vol. 4, pp. 325-326.) 



Strabo says expressly that the Moors dressed themselves in bear 

 and lion skins (Wagner, 1841, p. 70). 



Blyth (1841, p. 65) gives a brief description of the animal, based 

 upon information supplied by Mr. Crowther, who had spent some 

 time in Morocco. "Upon questioning Mr. Crowther respecting the 

 Bear of Mount Atlas, which has been suspected to be the Syriacus, 

 he knew it well, and it proves to be a very different animal. . . . 

 This individual was killed at the foot of the Tetuan mountains, 

 about twenty-five miles from that of the Atlas. It is considered a 

 rare species in that part, and feeds on roots, acorns, and fruits. Does 

 not climb with facility; and is stated to be very different-looking 

 from any other Bear." An unsuccessful effort was made to preserve 

 the skin of the specimen mentioned. 



According to Loche (1867, p. 52), Shaw (1743) mentions a bear 

 in the Atlas Mountains. Loche also states that the Emperor of 

 Morocco had recently sent to the zoological garden of Marseilles a 

 live bear coming from his territory. 



Bourguignat (1867, pp. 41-46) contributes the following informa- 

 tion. Herodotus records a bear from western Libya. Poiret, a French 

 botanist and zoologist, reports (1789) bears from the Atlas Moun- 

 tains, and mentions a fresh skin brought by an Arab into Mazoule. 

 A friend of Bourguignat's, M. Letourneux, had reports of many 

 bears in the region of fidough, and learned of others occurring not 

 long previously on Djebel-Bou-Abed, Djebel Gherar, Djebel Debhar, 

 and Djebel Thaya, Algeria. The animal was said to be small, thick- 

 set, and brown, with a white spot on the throat, and to be very fond 

 of honey and fruits. Bourguignat himself records skeletal remains 

 of a bear from a cavern on Djebel Thaya in the Province of Con- 

 stantine, to which he gives the name of Ursus jaidherbianus. Human 

 artifacts associated with these remains were believed to date from 

 the early Christian Era. 



