Pelts 



but he is marvellously fast down a rocky hill- 

 side when being beaten out, and can move rapidly 

 over rocky slopes covered with dead crackly 

 leaves in a wonderfully silent fashion. 



As all know who have ever visited a Zoo, 

 Bruin is very partial to sweets, and this sweet 

 tooth of his causes the villager considerable worry 

 and loss. Any sweet sugar crop that the village 

 may raise will be taken toll of by the bears of the 

 neighbourhood, and owing to their obstinate and 

 irascible dispositions they are very naturally 

 greatly feared by the villager, a fact they appear to 

 be perfectly well aware of. 



If I were to be asked, I should say that any 

 form of sweet article, such as the sweet fruits of 

 forest trees and shrubs, any sweet crop culti- 

 vated by the villager, such as sugar-cane, maize, 

 etc., honey and many kinds of insects, form the 

 staple food of the sloth bear. Amongst insects the 

 white ant or termite stands out as a favourite 

 dish. Bruin digs these latter out of the ant heaps, 

 his remarkable powers of inhaling and propelling 

 air enabling him to suck up the tiny termites from 

 their galleries. He is also partial to the juice of 

 sweet barked trees, and will often girdle and kill 

 a tree by scratching off the bark with his powerful 

 claws to get at the sweet green succulent bast 

 layer on the inside. 



On the whole, the animal is not difficult to ap- 

 proach, provided one remembers to keep the 



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