294 ZOOLOGY. 



plantigrade, and while standing at the base of the carniv- 

 orous series, have some features suggesting and anticipating 

 those of the lemurs and monkeys. The raccoon, Procyon 

 lotor (Linn.) abounds throughout the United States. It is 

 strictly nocturnal in its habits, and feeds on mice, young 

 birds, birds' eggs, turtles, frogs, fish, crayfish, and shell- 

 fish, as well as insects, nuts, and corn. It nests in hollows 

 in trees, being a good climber. An old 'coon is a tough 

 match for an average dog, says Merriam, and to their cun- 

 ningness the saying "a sly 'coon" owes its origin. The 

 raccoon hibernates during the severest part of the winter. 

 Allied to it is the coati (Nasua) of Central America, a 

 creature about the size of and with the general habits of 

 the raccoon, being an exceedingly knowing and mischievous 

 animal. A number of extinct Eocene mammals are also 

 allied to a small plantigrade, long-tailed carnivore, Cerco- 

 leptes, which resembles the Primates in its two cutting 

 premolars and three true molars; while the rami of the 

 mandible are coossified; for these reasons it was placed by 

 F. Cuvier between the orders Camivora and Primates 

 (Cope). It is allied to the raccoon, is called the kincajou, 

 and lives in northern South America. 



The bears have a thick, clumsy body, with a rudimen- 

 tary tail, and the teeth are broad and tuberculated, so that 

 they can live indifferently on fish, insects, or berries. Our 

 North American species are the polar bear ( Ursus mariti- 

 mus, Fig. 324) and Ursus arctos, with its varieties of 

 brown, cinnamon, and grizzly bears; and the true black 

 bear, Ursus Americanus. The black bear weighs from 

 two to four hundred pounds, and is common in the wooded 

 or mountainous parts of the country, and is destructive 

 to sheep, lambs, and calves. They will rarely attack man, 

 unless wounded or in defence of their young. When the 

 weather is severe and the snow is deep they make a den in 

 a hollow tree, cave, or under the root of a tree, and there 

 hibernate. They have } T oung bnt once in three years. 

 Bears can be tamed and easily taught to perform various 



