112 J Animals in the Wild 



frog out of water, and how to raid a tree in which bees have 

 stored honey. 



The Bear's Sweet Tooth: Bears are noted for being gourmets. 

 Black bears live chiefly on vegetables, but they also dig for roots 

 and bugs and catch grasshoppers and crickets. They enjoy all 

 kinds of fruit, blueberries being their favorite; and like all bears, 

 they are so fond of honey that they will risk the vengeance of 

 furious swarms of bees to tear open and rob a bee tree. 



Some black bears add meat to this diet, but it is said that when 

 other food is plentiful they will not show the slightest interest 

 in freshly killed deer or sheep. Grizzly bears are flesh eaters: They 

 hunt deer and wapiti (an especially large deer), and will even 

 attack cattle and horses. Small game is their usual prey, however, 

 and a grizzly will hunt mice tirelessly, digging them out of the 

 grass with his huge paws. 



The Bear's Long Sleep: It is probable that ir prehistoric times 

 great cave bears, like the "cave men," made good use of dens and 

 caves for shelter and safety. Nowadays bears are chiefly interested 

 in dens as places to sleep in during the winter months. 



A female bear chooses a particularly snug retreat, for it is 

 during the long, cold-weather rest period that her babies are born. 

 In the spring she leaves her winter headquarters, taking her cubs 

 with her. From then on, all outdoors is her home. Black bears 

 and grizzlies usually seek out a natural cave or partially uprooted 

 tree that will shelter them but if need be, they dig a hole under 

 some steep embankment. 



FOXES AND WOLVES 



Unlike the bears, foxes remain together in family groups. 

 While the young are growing up, both parents take care of them 

 in their underground den. The red fox digs its own burrow, 

 often supplementing the living room with a pantry and then 

 building a tunnel to connect the food storage room with the main 

 burrow. Though a fox family leaves its cozy home during warm 

 weather, it may return to the same winter address year after year. 



