Bears.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



187 



opening in the snow, and the quantity of hoar-frost 

 which occasionally gathers round the opening serves 

 to betray its retreat to the hunter. In more south- 

 ern districts, where the trees are larger, bears often 

 shelter themselves in the hollow trunks. It has been 

 observed by the Indians, that unless bears are very 

 fat on the approach of winter, they do not hybernate ; 

 and as the males are often thin and exhausted in 

 September, should the winter set in before they 

 have time to recover their fat, they migrate south- 

 wards in search of food. So carefully do the females 

 with young conceal themselves, that Dr. Richard- 

 son's numerous inquiries among the Indians of Hud- 

 son's Bay ended in the discovery of only one man 

 who had killed a pregnant bear. 



In the northern districts of America, as in Norway 

 and other parts of the continent of Europe, the chase 

 of the bear is followed up with the utmost ardour, 

 nor will it surprise us to learn that an animal from 

 which the Indian derives so much benefit (its flesh 

 and every portion being in requtJst), and which in 

 the hour of combat is terrible, should be the subject 

 of many superstitious observances, pardon being 

 asked for its slaughter, to which necessity impelled 

 the hunters, and every means taken to propitiate the 

 offended spirit of the dead animal. Fig. 836 illus- 

 trates Bear-hunting by the Chippewayan Indians. 



The Black Bear is subject to varieties of colour ; 

 its fur being sometimes of cinnamon tint, and some- 

 times of a still more yellow tone. Occasionally it is 

 seen with a white throat-mark. 



Cinnamon bears, as well as black, exist in the 

 gardens of the Zoological Society. 



837. — ^The Spectacled Beab 

 ( Ursus omatus). The Spectacled Bear, so called 

 from the two semicircular marks of buflf-colour ex- 

 tending from the muzzle and arching over each eye, 

 is a native of the Cordilleras of the Andes in Chili. 

 Its general fur is smooth, shining, and black : the 

 muzzle is buff-coloured; the throat and chest are 

 whitish. Of its habits nothing is known. Spe- 

 cimens exist in the gai-dens of the Zoological 

 Society. 



In the 'Zool. Proceeds.' for 1833, p. 114, is the 

 notice of a bear, brought to Caraccas from the 

 Andes, differing, accoi-ding to Sir R. Ker Porter, in 

 gome points from the Ursus ornatus, of which it was 

 evidently a mere variety. 



838, 839, 840.— Thb Grisly, or Gbizzly Beae 



{Ursus (Danis) ferox). Ursus horribilis. Say; 

 Mesheh Musquaw of the Cree Indians ; Hohhost 

 of the Chopunish Indians. This formidable species 

 is a native of the Rocky Mountains and the district 

 eastward of them. To the north it has been observed 

 as far as sixty-one degrees of latitude : to the south 

 it is said to extend as far as Mexico. Everywhere it 

 is dreaded for its great strength and ferocity ; even 

 the huge bison falls prostrate before it, and the 

 savage conqueror " drags the dark bulk along " 

 (weighing a thousand pounds) to its haunt, and digs 

 a pit for its reception, repairing to it as hunger dic- 

 tates, till the whole is consumed. 



Lewis and Clarke give the measurement of one of 

 these bears as nine feet from nose to tail, but had 

 seen them of larger dimensions. They attain the 

 weight of eight hundred pounds. The length of 

 the fore-foot is nine inches, of the hind-foot twelve, 

 without including the enormous claws ; its breadth 

 seven inches. The tail is short, and lost in the 

 shaggy hair. We query Lewis and Clarke's mea- 

 surement of nine feet. 



The Grisly Bear digs with great facility, but when 

 adult is not capable of ascending trees ; a fortunate 

 circumstance for the hunter, for such is the animal's 

 tenacity of life, that it seldom falls until it has re- 

 ceived many balls. It would seem that though the 

 adult Grisly Bears cannot climb trees, that the cubs 

 are able, if the reports of the Indians are to be cre- 

 dited. The cubs, and females with young, hyber- 

 nate ; but the older males often come abroad during 

 winter for food. 



An individual of this species, distinguished by his 

 enormous size and ferocity, some time since attracted 

 the attention of all who visited the gardens of the 

 Zoological Society. He had previously been about 

 twenty years in the Tower, when, at the breaking 

 up of the menagerie there, he was presented by his 

 Majesty William IV. to the Society. Hi-s morose 

 indomitable temper was never subdued, but remained 

 unaltered, as if he had been at large surrounded by 

 the savage rocks and gloomy pine-forests of his 

 native regions. 



841.— The Syrian Bear 



{Ursus Syriacits). Though the bear is distinctly 

 alluded to in the Scriptures (see 2 Kings ii. 23, et 

 seq. ; also 1 Samuel xvii. 34, et seq.1 as a native of 

 Syria, few travellers have noticed the existence of 

 this animal in that country. Hassclquist omits it in 

 his catalogue of the animals given in his ' Travels 

 in the Levant ;' nor is it recorded as a species by 



Desmarest, Fischer, or Lesson. It is in fact only 

 recently, that naturalists have become aware that 

 such an animal still prowled about the mountains of 

 Lebanon. 



Matthew Paris, however, in his ' England,' relates 

 how Godfrey, during the siege of Antioch, rescued 

 a poor man from the attack of a bear, which, turning 

 upon the warrior, unhorsed him, having lacerated 

 his steed, whereupon he continued the combat on 

 foot, and, though he received a most dangerous 

 wound, succeeded in burying his sword up to the hilt 

 in his savage adversary, and killed him. ('Hist. 

 Engl.,' t. ii. p. 34, fol. Lond. 1040.) Seetzen (a 

 German traveller, in 1811) was informed in Pales- 

 tine that bears existed in the mountains; and La 

 Roque states that in his time they were tolerably 

 abundant upon the higher Lebanon mountains, from 

 which they descended at night in search of prey, 

 and even occasioned apprehension to travellers. 



Notwithstanding these casual notices, the animal 

 remained in obscurity till brought before the sci- 

 entific world by Emprich and Ehrenberg, who, in 

 their ' Symbolae Physicae,' give the figure and de- 

 scription of a middle-aged female, killed near the 

 village of Bischerre, in Syria, and which they dis- 

 sected. They observe, that Mount Lebanon is 

 crowned with two snowy summits, one called Gebel 

 Sanin, the other Makmel, both of which they vi- 

 sited, but found bears only upon the latter, near the 

 village of Bischerre, to the gardens of which they 

 wander in winter, but in the summer remain in the 

 neighbourhood of the snow. The individual killed 

 was about four feet two inches long ; her den, which 

 they saw, was formed by great fragments of cal- 

 careous rock casually thrown together. The flesh 

 of the animal was tasted, and found to be sapid, but 

 the liver was sweet and nauseous. The gall is in 

 great esteem ; the .skins are sold, and so is the dung, 

 under the name of Bar-el-dub, the latter being used 

 in medicine, and for diseases of the eye, in Syria 

 and Egypt. The Syrian bear frequently preys on 

 animals, but for the most part feeds on vegetables ; 

 and the fields of cicer arietinus (a kind of chick- 

 pea), and other crops near the swowy region, are 

 often laid waste by it. 



The Syrian bear is of a uniform fulvous white 

 (sometimes variegated with fulvous^ the ears are 

 elongated ; the forehead is but slightly arched. 

 The fur is woolly beneath, with long, straight, or but 

 slightly curled hair externally ; a stiff mane of 

 about four inches long runs between the shoulders. 

 It was evidently this species which figured in the 

 procession of Ptolemy Philadelphus at Alexandria, 

 and which is called by Athenseus (a Greek writer 

 of Lower Egypt, contemporary with Commodus) 

 a bear of white colour and large size {ioKTo; /ih 

 Xii/«fl lUiyaA-n i^'m) : and which some, strange to say, 

 have regarded as the Polar Bear from the shores of 

 the Arctic Sea. 



842.— The Thibet Bear 



(Ursus Thibetanus) . This species was discovered 

 by M. Duvaucel in the mountains of Sylhet, and 

 about the same time by Dr. Wallich in the Nepal 

 range. The neck of the Thibet bear is thick, and 

 the head flattened, the forehead and muzzle forming 

 almost a straight line ; the ears are large ; the body 

 compact, and the limbs thick and clumsy ; but the 

 claws are comparatively weak. The general colour 

 is black, but the lower lip is white, and a large 

 Y-shaped mark of the same colour on the breast 

 sends up its branch on each side in front of the 

 shoulder. It is not of large stature. Fruits and 

 other vegetable productions appear to constitute its 

 principal food. 



843.— The Malayan Beak 



{Ursus (Helarctos) Malai/anus). Bruang of the 

 Malays. This species is found in Sumatra, and, with 

 others of the subgenus Helarctos, is distinguished by 

 the extensibility of the lips, the length and flexibility 

 of the tongue, the shortness and smoothness of the 

 fur, and the magnitude of the claws. 



"The Malayan Bear, or Sun Bear, is said to be a 

 sagacious animal, and to displa.y great fondness for 

 sweets. The honey of the wild bees of its native 

 forests is supposed to be a favourite food, and cer- 

 tainly its long slender tongue well adapts it for the 

 reception of this delicacy. It feeds extensively on 

 vegetables, and issaid to be attracted to the vicinity 

 of man by the young shoots of the cocoa-nut trees, 

 to which it is very injurious ; indeed Sir T. Stam- 

 ford Raffles found those of the deserted villages in 

 the Passuma district of Sumatra destroyed by it. 



It is often kept domesticated, and is playful and 

 familiar. Of one which lived two years in the possies- 

 sion of Sir T. Stamford Raffles, he writes : — " He was 

 brought up in the nursery with the children, and 

 when admitted to my table, as was frequently the 

 case, gave a proof of his taste by refusing to eat any 

 fruit but raangosteens, or to drink any wine but 

 champagne. The only time I ever knew him to be 



out of humour was on an occasion when no cham- 

 pagne was forthcoming. He was naturally of an 

 affectionate disposition, and it was never found 

 necessary to chain or chastise him. It was usual lor 

 this bear, the cat, the dog, and a small blue moun- 

 tain bird, or lory of New Holland, to mess together, 

 and eat out of the same dish. His favourite play- 

 fellow was the dog, whose teasing and worrying was 

 always borne and returned with the utmost good 

 humour and playfulness. As he grew up he became 

 a very powerful animal, and in his rambles in the 

 garden he would lay hold of the largest plantains, 

 the stems of which he could scarcely embrace, and 

 tear them up by the roots." 



The general colour of this bear is jet black, with 

 the muzzle of a yellowish tint, and a semilunar 

 white mark upon the breast. When adult it 

 measures about four feet six inches along the 

 back. 



844. — The Bornea'n Bear 

 (Ursus (Helarctos) euryspilus). In general form, 

 habits, manners, and colouring this species closely 

 resembles the Sumatran bear ; but is perhaps rather 

 less, and has a large orange-coloured patch upon 

 the chest ; the fur is extremely close. In captivity 

 it is playful and good-tempered. 



The Bornean Sun Bear not only sits upon its 

 haunches with ease, a position it usually assumes, 

 but ca.n stand upright with great facility. Its senses, 

 especially those of sight and smell, are very acute; 

 the olfactory organs indeed appear to be in con- 

 tinual exercise. By various and amusing gestures 

 it solicits food from spectators ; and when a morsel 

 of cake is held at a small distance beyond its reach, 

 it expands its nostrils, protrudes its upper lip, and 

 often its tongue, while with its paws it makes every 

 effort to obtain the proft'ered delicacy. Having 

 gained it, and filled its mouth, it places the remain- 

 der with singular coolness on its hinder feet, as if to 

 keep it from being soiled by the floor, and brings it 

 in successive portions to its mouth. It often places 

 itself in an attitude of entreaty, earnestly regarding 

 the spectators, and stretching forth its paws ready 

 to receive their offering It is fond of notice, con- 

 scious of kind treatment, and delights to be patted, 

 and rubbed ; but when vexed or irritated, refuses all 

 attention so long as the ofiending person remains 

 in sight. 



Both this and the preceding species excel in 

 climbing, and they are said to occasion much injury 

 to groves of cocoa-nuts, both by climbing up them, 

 and devouring the top shoot, thereby killing the 

 tree, and also by tearing down the fruit, to the 

 milky juice of which they are very partial. 



845. — The Sloth-Bear 



(Vrsus (Prochilus) labiatus). Ours paresseux 

 and Ours jongleur of the French ; Aswail of the 

 Mahrattas. 



This uncouth animal was first described and 

 figured (from the life) by Bewick, in his 'History of 

 Quadrupeds,' without any name, but as an animal 

 that had hitherto escaped the attention of natural- 

 ists. It was then (1701) taken for a sloth, and re- 

 ceived from Shaw the names of Bradypus ursinus, 

 and ursiforrnis ; and from Pennant that of Ursiform 

 Sloth. Blainville and others restored it to the genus 

 Ursus ; Illiger having previously founded the genus 

 Prochilus for its reception, a name which is still 

 retained in a subgeneric sense only. 



The sloth-bear is a rough clumsy animal, with 

 short massive legs, and huge hooked claws; and 

 possessing great mobility of the snout. It inhabits 

 the mountainous partsof India, and was observed by 

 Colonel Sykes in Dukhun. 



It dwells in caves, and its food is said to consist 

 of fruits, honey, and termite ants, for the demolish- 

 ing whose houses its claws are well adapted. It is 

 said also frequently to descend to the plains, and 

 commit great havoc on the sugar-cane plantations. 

 On these occasions it becomes an object of pursuit 

 to the Indian and European hunters. 



The sloth-bear attains to nearly the size of the 

 brown bear of Europe ; it is robustly framed. The 

 hair is remarkably long and shaggy ; on the upper 

 part of the head and neck it is sometimes twelve 

 inches in length, and separates into two portions, 

 one of which overhangs the eyes, imparting a 

 peculiarly heavy appearance to the animal's physi- 

 ognomy ; while the other forms a thick mane across 

 the shoulders. The general colour is black, inter- 

 mixed with brown : a triangular mark on the breast 

 is white. The head is carried low ; the back arched ; 

 the muzzle, which is of a dirty yellowish white, is 

 very much elongated ; the lips are thin, flexible, 

 and project at all times considerably in front of the 

 jaws ; and possess singular mobility, being capable 

 of protrusion in a tubular form far beyond the muz- 

 zle, thus constituting an instrument of suction. The 

 tongue is long, flat, and square at the extremity. We 

 have seen the animal protrude his lips, while at the 

 same time they were kept apart for several minutes 



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