MAMMALS 35 



to bay by dogs, the Bear becomes very bewildered and 

 backs up against the trunk of a tree, shielding its head 

 and neck with the fore-paws, and occasionally striking 

 out at its enemies : then woe betide the dog that is 

 within reach, for one slash with the powerful hooked 

 claws will disembowel it. 



The Bear feeds very largely on the honey of wild bees. 

 There are three species of Apis in Borneo, and all of 

 them construct single combs which are suspended from 

 the branches of trees, and these must afford a succulent 

 feast for Bruin. Far more abundant, however, are the 

 little stingless bees of the genus Melipona, which make 

 their nests in hollow trees. The combs in which the 

 dark and rather bitter honey is stored are not made up 

 of beautifully symmetrical hexagonal cells like those of 

 the honey-bee, nor are they in the form of flat sheets, 

 but they are irregular masses of little urn-like cells 

 adhering to the walls of the nest or rising in shapeless 

 piles from its base. The entrance to such a nest, or 

 hive, is often a mere slit in the hollow trunk, and if the 

 slit or passage is too large the bees partially close it up 

 with a resinous sort of wax, and frequently build out 

 in addition a porch or even a tunnel of the same 

 substance, in order to prevent rain from entering. The 

 Bear can, of course, easily pull to pieces the fragile 

 defences built by the bees, and if the slit in the tree- 

 trunk is wide enough to admit a paw, the contents of 

 the hive are soon scooped out and devoured. But 

 sometimes the entrance is too narrow, and the grooves 

 scored in the wood and bark around it show that Bruin 

 has been frustrated in his attempts at stealing a meal. 



Dr. Hose tells me that the Malayan Bear also feeds 

 on Termites ; the strong claws are certainly very suitable 



