n8 



The Living Animals of the World 



Photo by L. Mcdland, F.Z.S.] 



YOUNG SYRIAN BEAR FROM THE CAUCASUS. 



[ North Finchley. 



This is, properly speaking, a Syrian bear, but the species is found in the Caucasus and in the Taurus 



Range. 



northern rivers. Whether the 

 large brown bear of the Rocky 

 Moun tains is always a grizzly 

 or often this less formidable 

 race is doubtful. The writer 

 inclines to think that it is 

 only the counterpart of the 

 North European and the 

 North Asiatic brown bear. 

 The following is Sir Samuel 

 Baker's account of these bears. 

 He says : " When I was in 

 California, experienced in- 

 formants told me that no 

 true grizzly bear was to be 

 found east of the Pacific 

 slope, and that Lord Coke 

 was the only Britisher who 



had ever killed a real grizzly in California. There are numerous bears of three if not four 

 kinds in the Rocky Mountains. These are frequently termed grizzlies ; but it is a misnomer. 

 The true grizzly is far superior in size, but of similar habits, and its weight is from 1,200 Ibs. 

 to 1,400 Ibs." After giving various reasons for believing this to be a fair weight, Sir Samuel 

 Baker adds that this weight is equivalent to that of an English cart-horse. There are certainly 

 three Rocky Mountain bears the Grizzly, the Brown, and the small Black Bear. There is 

 probably also another a cross between the black and the brown. It is ridiculous to say that 

 the brown bears which come to eat the refuse on the dust-heaps of the hotels in the Yellow- 

 stone Park, and let ladies photograph them, are savage grizzly bears. 



THE SYRIAN BEAR. 



This bear, which figures in the story of Elisha, is a variety of the brown bear. It is 

 found from the Caucasus to the mountains of Palestine, and is a smaller animal than the true 

 brown bear, weighing about 300 Ibs. The fur in summer is of a mixed rusty colour, with a 

 whitish collar on the chest. It steals the grapes on Mount Horeb, and feeds upon ripe fruits, 

 apples, chestnuts, corn, and the like. It is then ready to face the long winter sleep. 



THE AMERICAN BLACK BEAR. 



This is the smallest North American species, and perhaps the most harmless. It seldom 

 weighs more than 400 Ibs. Its coat is short and glossy, and its flesh, especially in autumn, is 

 esteemed for food. The early backwoodsmen found it a troublesome neighbour. The bears 

 liked Indian corn, and were not averse to a young pig. " Like the deer," says Audubon, " it 

 changes its haunts with the seasons, and for the same reason viz. the desire of obtaining food. 

 During the spring months it searches for food in the low alluvial lands that border the rivers, 

 or by the margins of the inland lakes. There it procures abundance of succulent roots, and of 

 the tender, juicy stems of plants, upon which it chiefly feeds at that season. During the 

 summer heat it enters the gloomy swamps, and passes much of its time in wallowing in the 

 mud like a hog, and contents itself with crayfish, roots, and nettles; now and then, when 

 hard pressed by hunger, it seizes a young pig, or perhaps a sow or calf. As soon as the 

 different kinds of berries ripen, the bears betake themselves to the high grounds, followed by 

 their cubs. In much-retired parts of the country, where there are no hilly grounds, it pays 

 visits to the maize-fields, which it ravages for a while. After this the various kinds of nuts 

 and grapes, acorns and other forest fruits, attract its attention. The black bear is then seen 



