142 LLOYD'S NATURAL HISTORY. 



that some Ursine remains, from English and Irish, have been 

 assigned to the Grisly Bear ( Ursits horribilis}^ but the writer is 

 by no means assured that this reference is correct. 



Documentary evidence proves the existence of th? Bear in 

 England during the eighth century ; and it is likewise on 

 record, that in the time of Edward the Confessor, the town of 

 Norwich was compelled annually to furnish a Bear for royal 

 sport, such Bears being in all probability native British animals. 

 It is likewise probable that the performing Bears which were led 

 about England during this period by itinerant minstrels were 

 also captured in the British Islands. During both the 

 Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods it would appear, however, 

 that the great Caledonian forest of Scotland was the principal 

 stronghold of these animals; Caledonian Bears being well- 

 known in the Roman amphitheatre. There are even traditions 

 still extant in the Highlands, together with certain Gaelic place- 

 names, apparently referring to the former existence of Bears in 

 these districts. 



At what precise period the Brown Bear became extinct in 

 Britain, there is, unfortunately, no means of ascertaining. 

 That it disappeared at an earlier date than the Wolf, is, how- 

 ever, certain ; and it has been considered probable that it had 

 ceased to exist before the tenth century. 



With regard to Ireland, Thompson writes that " I am not 

 aware of any written evidence tending to show that the Bear 

 was ever indigenous to Ireland, but a tradition exists of its 

 having been so. It is associated with the Wolf as a native 

 animal in the stories handed down through several generations 

 to the present time." 



THE TRUE SEALS. FAMILY PHOCID^). 



The whole of the Carnivora treated of above, together with 

 their foreign allies, collectively constitute the typical group of 



