CHAPTER X 



THE BEAK (UBSUS) 



THIS is one of the oldest animals in history, and it has survived 

 the attacks of man far more successfully than the more noble 

 beast the lion. This survival may probably result from the 

 secluded habits of the bear, which cannot be classed among the 

 destroyers, such as the carnivora, although it is dangerous when 

 hunted, and not unfrequently it attacks man without any provo- 

 cation. 



The nature of most animals may be judged by the formation 

 of their teeth ; those of the bear declare its omnivorous pro- 

 pensities : 



In the upper jaw 12 molars, 2 canine, 6 incisors. 



In the lower jaw 14 molars, 2 canine, 6 incisors. 



There are so many varieties of the bear that it is impossible 

 exactly to define the food of the species. We see the polar bear 

 ( Ursiis maritimus), which, living upon seals and fish, differs from 

 all others; the grizzly bear (Ursm ferox) of Western America, 

 which will eat flesh when it can obtain it, but is a feeder upon 

 roots and berries. Nearly all bears are inclined to vegetable food 

 and insects, accepting flesh when they find the freshly killed body 

 of an animal, but not seeking live creatures to kill and eat. The 

 sloth bear of India is an exception to this rule, as it refuses flesh, 

 and lives simply upon fruits, berries, leaves of certain trees, roots, 

 and insects of all kinds, the favourite bonne louche being the nest 

 of white ants (Termites), for which it will dig a large hole in the 

 hardest soil to a depth of 2 or 3 feet. The molars of bears have 

 a close resemblance to those of a human being, exhibiting a grind- 

 ing surface for the mastication of all manner of substances. The 

 nose is used as a snout, for turning over stones which lie upon the 

 surface, in search of insects, slugs, worms, and other creatures, as 

 nothing comes amiss to the appetite of a bear. 



