FOOD OF BEARS. 367 



The food of tlie bear consists chiefly of black and white ants, whose 

 nnderground colonies he is ever attacking ; the larvse of large beetles ; and 

 fruit. He is particularly fond of the pods of the Cassia fistula (a very 

 common shrub in the Mysore jungles), which contain a sweet black gum 

 between the seeds, of a highly laxative character. Bears are fond of sugar- 

 cane, jak fruit, and melons. In some places they are troublesome in the 

 groves of wild date-trees {Phoenix sylvestris), from which hcnda — the fer- 

 mented sap of the tree — is obtained. The date-trees are seldom more than 

 twenty feet high ; the bears climb them, and by tipping up the pot in which 

 the juice is collected with their paws they manage to drink its contents. 

 The henda-^voMers, would not begrudge them a few quarts, but they break 

 a large number of pots by their clumsiness before they get what they 

 require. The natives are unanimous in asserting that the bears drop down 

 backwards instead of taking the trouble to climb down, and that they con- 

 stantly get drunk with their potations. This seems not unlikely from the 

 manner in which monkeys and otlier animals are affected by strong drinks. 

 Bears are also very fond of the fruit of the date-palm, which they find on 

 the ground under the trees, and of honey when they can obtain it. 



Ursus lahidhis is usually believed to be non-carnivorous, but I have 

 known of one case of a bear devouring a jungle-sheep (muntjac-deer), which 

 one of my men had shot and left in the jungle overnight, being unable to 

 carry it home. It rained heavily before morning, so there was no mistaking 

 the footmarks of the marauder, which might otherwise have been sup- 

 posed to have been a panther or hysena. I have seen where bears have 

 gnawed the dry bones of cattle that have died in the jungles. They do 

 not, however, attempt to kill any animals for food, and their eating flesh at 

 all is decidedly exceptional. 



Bears are dangerous to an unarmed man. Woodcutters and others, whose 

 avocations take them into the jungles, are frequently roughly handled by 

 them. They are most dangerous, like all wild animals, if suddenly stumbled 

 upon, when their natural timidity leads to their becoming the aggressors. 

 Perhaps fewer accidents occur under such circumstances of sudden meetings 

 from tigers and panthers than any other animals ; they are naturally quick- 

 witted, and not so much embarrassed by an unexpected encounter as some 

 other creatures. The blundering fear of a suddenly aroused bear is distinct 

 from any fierceness of disposition. Bears are very peaceable if left alone, 

 and even when wounded and sorely provoked frequently behave in a 

 pusillanimous manner. Injuries inflicted by them are less commonly fatal 

 than from the Felidce. 



The usual methods of hunting the bear are, driving him with beaters if 



