CHAPTER XVII 



BEARS AND WATER-HOLE SHOOTING 



OUR Ceylon bear is Melursus ursinus, otherwise the sloth- 

 bear or Indian bear, though why " sloth " I cannot 

 conceive, as there is not much of the sloth about its 

 movements. 



It is rather an ugly, comical-looking little beast, about 

 2 feet 3 inches, more or less, in height, 4 feet 6 inches or 

 so from nose to stern, and will weigh up to and over 200 Ib. 



The fur is very coarse and shaggy, black in colour, 

 thickest and longest on the back of the neck to between 

 the shoulders, thinning off to almost bare skin on the 

 belly and under parts of the legs. The ears are moder- 

 ately large and tufted with hair ; the muzzle is a dirty 

 whitey-grey, and there is a dirty white " horse-shoe " 

 on the chest just where the neck joins. 



The lips are very thick and long, capable of being 

 protruded considerably, and are used to " mouth " things 

 before taking into the mouth, also to form the " suction " 

 tube when sucking out the combs of the white ants or 

 other grubs and insects which form a part of their food. 

 The fore-legs are very powerful, being armed with formid- 

 able claws which can be moved separately like fingers, 

 and are used for digging purposes when attacking white- 

 ant hills or grubbing for other insects. They can also 

 strike with their fore-paws just like a human being can 

 with his hands. The back legs are not so powerful, but 



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