THE BLACK SLOTH BEAR 



by the animals. Bears wander a great deal, and, 

 unless in the case of a female with very young cubs, 

 they do not seem to confine themselves to any one 

 home in particular. 



They make a hideous noise when wounded, and 

 I have heard one, which the late Brigadier-General 

 A. and I encountered accidentally when we were 

 following the tracks of bison, and which when 

 disturbed rushed through long grass closely pur- 

 sued by us (we could not see it on account of the 

 cover) grunt just like a pig. It was not until the 

 bear, embracing a tree with one paw, stood upon 

 its hind legs, that the General or I obtained even a 

 glimpse of it, whereupon a bullet from his rifle 

 knocked it over, though such was its vitality (al- 

 beit but a small female and rendered absolutely 

 hors de combat by the first shot) that it required 

 two or three more bullets to put the beast out of 

 pain. Bears sometimes, when playing or quarrel- 

 ling, make a noise which can be heard a long 

 distance off. 



In the Mysore country, in the district bearing 

 that name, the best spots which I know for bears 

 are the tract at the foot of the Billiga Rungun 

 hills, near Punjur, in the Chamraj-Nagar taluq ; and 

 the hills called Gopalsawmy, Kurdeebetta, and 

 Sigeebetta, near Maddur, in that of Goondulpet ; 

 but they are also found occasionally in most of the 

 large forests. In the Kadur district of the same 

 province, the vicinity of Sacrapatam is a good 

 locality for them, and there are some also near 

 Tarikere, and in many other places. A tent may 



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