II. 



BRUIN THE BEAR. 



35 



North. A friend of mine gave one a whole cocoa-nut 

 which the bear dashed to the ground until it cracked. 

 Then he placed his paw upon it and crushed it, licking up 

 the milk, and eating with much gusto the sweet white 

 flesh. These bears, like others of their kind, are fond of 

 walking up to the bars of the cage, and then retreating 

 backwards, wagging their heads from side to side ; and one 



of them has the curious habit of walking through the 

 water to one end of his tank, and then swimming to the 

 other end on his back. They seem sometimes to object to 

 taking to the water ; and Mr. Grenfell records how one of 

 our Clifton bears, anxious to obtain a cocoa-nut that was 

 floating in his tank, pawed at the water so as to create a 

 current, which brought the desired object within his reach. 

 We must be careful, however, while noting with interest 



D 2 



