197 



grab at Berne, in Switzerland, for 47 years, and a female after 31 

 years of age bore young. 



98. Ursus torquatus. The Himalayan black Bear. 



Ursus thibetanus, F. Cttvier, Hist. Nat. Mam. pi. 213 (1824) ; id. 



Ossemens Fosf. ed. 3, iv, p. 325 ; Blyth, Cat. p. 76 ; Jerdun, Mam. 



p. 70 ; Lydekker, J. A. S. B. xlvi, pt. 2, p. 285. 

 Ursus torquatus, Wagner, Schreb. Sdugeth. Supp. ii, p. 144 (1811). 

 Helarctos tibetanus, Horsf. Cat. p. 124 ; Adams, P. Z. S. 1858, 



p. 618. 

 Ursus gedrosianua, W. Blanf. J. A. S. B. xlvi, pt. 2, p. 317 ; id. 



P. A. S. B. 1879, p. 4. 



Rinch or Rich, Bldlu, II. ; Mam, Baluchi ; Hdput, Kashmiri ; Sandr, 

 Hiny bong, Nepale.se; Dom, Bhotia; Son-a, Lepcha; Mdyyen, Limbo; 

 Sutum, Daphla; Situm, Abor ; Mapol, Garo; Muphur, Musu-bhurma, 

 Kachari ; Vumpi, Kuki ; Sawom, Manipuri ; Hughum, Thuyua, Theya, 

 Chup, Sevan, Sdpd, Naga ; Wek-ivon, Burmese. 



Size moderate. Fur smooth, not long or shaggy ; hair of moderate 

 length, without any woolly underfur ; the hair on the shoulders is, 

 however, considerably elongated in winter, giving the appearance 

 of a hump. Claws comparatively short, strong, and curved. Ears 

 rather large and covered with longish hair. 



The skull behind the orbits is longer in proportion than that of 

 U. arctus, and the muzzle is shorter. The sagittal crest is but 

 slightly developed even in old animals. 



Colour. Perfectly black almost throughout, with the exception 

 of the inverted white crescent or horseshoe-mark on the chest 

 which is narrow, with each end prolonged upwards in front of the 

 shoulder. The chin, too, is white, and sometimes the nose is 

 reddish brown, the upper lip being whitish. Occasionally the 

 paws are said to be reddish brown. Claws black, 



Dimensions. There is much variation, and males are larger than 

 females. In several measurements of ordinary individuals given 

 by Hodgson, the head and body vary from 4 ft. 8 in. to 5 ft. 5 in., 

 but a very large male measured 6 feet 5 inches from nose to rump. 

 The tail without hair measures 3 to 3| inches, the hair at the end 

 1 to 1| inches more, the planta or sole of the hind foot to the heel 

 7| to 9 inches ; ear without hair and measured from crown of head 

 5 to 5. Weight of full-grown males 200 to 250 Ibs. A good-sized 

 adult skull from Nepal is 10 inches in basal length and 6-8 broad. 

 As a rule this is a considerably larger and heavier animal than the 

 sloth-bear of the Indian Peninsula. 



Distribution. This bear is found throughout the forest-regions ot 

 the Himalayas, extending westward through parts of Afghanistan 

 into Baluchistan and the Khirthar range on the west frontier ot 

 Sind. The western limits are about the frontier of. Persia, lo 

 the eastward U. torquatus is found in the Assam ranges and some 

 of the countries to the southward, being certainly found, thougli 

 not common, in Pegu, where it was obtained by Theobald, and as 



