URSUS TIBETANUS. 71 



This bear Is only found, within our province, on the Himalayas, but 

 it is also found in the hill-ranges at Assam. Its specific name is un- 

 fortunate, since it is rare in Thibet. In summer it is generally found at a 

 considerable elevation, 9 to 12,000 feet or so, and often close to snow; but 

 in winter it descends to 5,000 feet, and even lower sometimes. It lives 

 chiefly on fruits and roots, apricots, walnuts, apples, currants, &c., also on 

 various grains, barley, Indian corn, buck- wheat, &c. ; and in winter 

 chiefly feeds on various acorns, climbing the oak-trees and breaking down 

 the branches ; and it is not uncommon to find one early in the morning in 

 an oak-tree, close to some dwelling-house or village. Occasionally, when 

 urged by hunger, they will destroy the crops of barley, buck-wheat, &c., 

 in broad daylight, also the cucumbers and pumpkins planted close to the 

 villages, and trailing over the huts. They are very fond of honey, and 

 occasionally pull down the honey from the hives kept by the hill people, 

 and built into their huts. Now and then they will kill sheep, goats, &c., 

 and are said occasionally to eat flesh. They often visit the village mill, 

 licking up the remnants of flour. During the daytime they take shelter 

 in the interior of some decayed tree, or among rocks, occasionally in 

 some thick clump of trees. The female brings forth her young, generally 

 two in number, in some den or cave among rocks. 



This bear has bad eyesight, but great power of smell, and if approached 

 from windward is sure to take alarm. A wounded bear will sometimes 

 show fight, but in general it tries to escape. It is said sometimes to coil 

 itself into the form of a ball, and thus roll down steep hills, if frightened 

 or wounded. If met suddenly where there is no means of escape, it wil] 

 attack man at once ; and, curious to say, it always mauls the face, some 

 times taking off most of the hairy scalp and frightfully disfiguring the un 

 fortunate sufferer. There are few villages in the interior, where one 01 

 more individuals thus mutilated are not to be be met with. It has been 

 noticed that if caught in a noose or snare, if they cannot break it by 

 force, they never have the intelligence to bite the rope in two, but 

 remain till they die or are killed. In captivity this bear, if taken young, 

 is very quiet and playful, but is not so docile as the next species. Like 

 others of its kind, it is fond of sucking its own or its neighbour's paws. 

 An imperfect skin of a bear from Thibet, termed the " Blue bear," was 

 pronounced by Blyth to be a variety of Tibetanus. The fur was softer 

 and longer than in the ordinary race, black with hoary tips, which im- 

 part a very characteristic appearance. 



