CREATURES OF THE WILDERNESS 137 



The brown, or red, bear of Kashmir, though 

 more given than the others to killing cattle, is 

 far less dreaded by the natives. Whereas the 

 sloth bear is active all the year round, the 

 brown one goes into winter quarters a little 

 before Christmas, coming out of hiding 

 towards the end of March. Like most bears, 

 and many other wild animals, it has not very 

 good eyesight or hearing, but its scent is keen. 

 In the summer it retires to the higher jungle, 

 but later in the year it comes down to the 

 cultivated area in search of grain, and is even 

 found in the valleys. Nearly all bears are 

 fond of decaying food, and they often bury 

 the animals they kill so that the meat may 

 acquire a flavour strong enough for their 

 palate. 



Though quiet enough if not molested, the 

 red bear can be very savage when wounded, 

 and on one occasion Captain Arbuthnot and 

 his shikari^ following up a wounded bear in 

 Kashmir, were both knocked flat by its charge. 

 Fortunately it rushed headlong, and did not 

 turn in its flight. 



JACKALS 



Jackals, though they are doubtless cowardly 

 animals under ordinary circumstances, similar 

 in their behaviour to the coyote of the American 

 prairies, are capable of showing bravery in 



