440 EASTERN EUROPE 



an animal as large as a cow ; while the short neck and broad chest possess such 

 power that they can carry as great a weight by their teeth as with their paws ; 

 and it is said that while walking erect they can carry the carcase of a cow through 

 water. With this strength is combined a marvellous capacity for enduring hard- 

 ships and wounds. Bears will often carry ten shots or more without succumbing, 

 and even when mortalry wounded frequently retain strength enough to rush on an 

 adversary. On one occasion in the Rokitno marshes a bear in its last agonies was 

 seen to break pine-stems of from 3| to 4A inches in diameter like straws. Some- 

 times bears will recover after being most severely wounded : many having been 

 found with old bullets in what would be thought vital spots, and others with 

 reunited bones. 



A bear's eyesight is by no means particularly good, while it is frequently 

 asserted that the sense of hearing in these animals is far from being acute. The 

 latter can, however, hardly be the case, since it is stated that in still weather one 

 of these animals will hear the cocking of a rifle at a distance of 70 paces, the 

 snapping of a twig as thick as a finger at 135 paces, and a low whistle at 60 

 paces. In all such cases bears immediately raise their heads, and move their ears 

 rapidly and continuously in different directions so as to locate the noise. Their 

 sense of smell enables them to detect food or foes at considerable distances. 

 Honey — as trials with young bears have shown — is scented at 30 paces against 

 the wind, and at 20 paces if buried at a depth of 18 inches or so in a mole- 

 hill. When honey has been placed in a tall cupboard, young bears in passing 

 have been seen to rise on their haunches in order to get at the dainty. Others 

 have endeavoured to pull down or climb a 1 2-foot pole baited at the top with 

 honey ; and bears have been known to run about excitedly on the bank of a pond 

 and finally enter the water in order to seize a floating mass of the same delicacy. 



The mental faculties of bears appear as well developed as those of any other 

 beast-of-prey in a wild state ; and although their intellect seems limited, yet many 

 of their actions display calculation and reflection. They are said, for instance, to 

 be able to decoy elks by imitating the call of the males, and old bears have been 

 known to walk backwards in winter, apparently in order to mislead the sportsman 

 as to the direction in which they travelled. In confinement bears will watch dis- 

 trustfully a man's every action, although apparently taking no notice ; and they 

 will follow every step or movement, endeavouring to prevent approach by moving 

 sideways or backwards. When the bears are discovered — although not further 

 molested — in their winter-quarters in the Rokitno marshes, they will follow the 

 foresters and not return to their dens until they feel themselves out of danger. 

 Bears, however, are neither cruel nor bloodthirsty, but, on the contrary, good- 

 natured, although, being extremely fond of comfort, they soon become irritated. 

 When they attack, it is with a certain degree of openness, in which respect they 

 contrast favourably with the wolf and the lynx, the two other dangerous European 

 beasts-of-prey. 



On quitting their winter-quarters in spring, when in consequence of the pro- 

 tracted sleep they move with difficulty, bears are compelled to be satisfied with 

 vegetable food pure and simple, eating moss and berries, and grazing on the 

 sprouting grass. Soon after, for want of something better, they feed on funguses 



