342 



THE ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 



American Black The American black bear ( Ursus americanus), of which several 



Bear. local forms have been described, is much smaller than the Alaskan 

 brown bears, and even inferior in size to the brown bear of Europe. 



Originally this bear ranged from Labrador to the Gulf of Mexico and 

 from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Now, however, it is mainly restricted to a 

 few of the mountain-ranees in the south of the St. Lawrence basin, to the 

 neighbourhood of the great lakes, and to some unsettled districts in the east of the 

 Mississippi basin. 



The habitat of the typical race extends over the forest-covered districts of 

 North America to the northward of Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. Normally the 



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AMERICAN BADGER. 



fur of this race is uniformly black throughout, except on the muzzle, where it is 

 tawny yellow. It is a comparatively small bear, with a short and wide skull, of 

 which the frontal region is usually moderately elevated, and with relatively small 

 cheek-teeth. The cinnamon-bear (IT. cinnamornus) of Audubon and Bachman 

 was based on an animal from the northern Rocky Mountains with small molars 

 like the common black bear of the United States, of which it would seem to be a 

 light-coloured phase. These bears are not only good swimmers but also excellent 

 climbers, and though avoiding the tree-tops, and thin branches which will 

 not bear their weight, climb even smooth and vertical stems to get at bees and 

 honey. They devour large quantities of ants and their so-called eggs, as well 

 as various kinds of fruits, leaves, and roots. They likewise catch fishes, frogs 

 tortoises, and small mammals, although they prefer domesticated calves and 



