no WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 



these tiny, helpless little bears rarely weigh 

 more than half a pound. I suppose if they were 

 larger their mother would not be able to nourish 

 them, on account of having to endure the hiber- 

 nating fast for a month or so after their birth. 



In May, when the cubs and their mother 

 emerge from the dark den, the cubs are most 

 cunning, and lively little balls of fur they are! 

 By this time they are about the weight and size 

 of a cottontail rabbit. In colour they may be 

 black, cinnamon, or cream. 



As with the grizzly, the colour has nothing to 

 do with the species. With black bears, how- 

 ever, if the fur is black his claws are also black; 

 or if brown the claws match the colour of the fur. 

 With the grizzly the colour of claws and fur often 

 do not match. 



Few more interesting exhibitions of play are 

 to be seen than that of cubs with their mother. 

 Often, for an hour at a time, the mother lies in a 

 lazy attitude and allows the cubs to romp all 

 over her and maul her to their hearts' content. 



The mother will defend her cubs with cunning, 

 strength, and utmost bravery. Nothing is more 

 pathetic in the wild world than the attachment 

 shown by the actions of the whimpering cubs 

 over the body of their dead mother. They will 

 struggle with utmost desperation to prevent be- 

 ing torn away from it. 



