HIMALAYAN BEARS. 115 



tiger above the snow limit, and have frequently 

 come across the tracks of leopards at altitudes above 

 fifteen thousand feet. 



There are two kind of bears found on this part 

 of the range. The first is the ordinary black 

 bear of the plains, previously described ; and the 

 second is the Himalayan, or snow bear, which 

 is only found in the higher regions. They measure 

 about nine feet long, stand about forty inches at 

 the shoulder, and are covered with shaggy hair, 

 which varies both in length and colour according 

 to the season of the year. The winter coat, which 

 is long, and of a grayish, or dirty yellowish shade, 

 falls off in the summer, and is replaced by a 

 shorter and much darker one approaching a 

 reddish-brown, that lengthens and grows gradually 

 lighter as the cold season again approaches. The 

 female and cubs are generally light-coloured, the 

 latter having a circle or collar of white round the 

 neck, which diminishes as they grow older, and 

 finally disappears. In April the female generally 

 gives birth to two cubs, which, when first born, 

 are scarcely larger than rats, and of a tawny yellow 

 i2 



