INDIAN SHOOTING 



187 



but Colonel Kinloch points out, and all natives agree, that while 

 the snow bear is never seen abroad in the winter, the black bear 

 periodically wakes up and makes short excursions for food and 

 water. As regards their comparative ferocity, the snow bear, 

 being generally found and shot in the open, rarely has an 

 opportunity of doing mischief, though he will occasionally 

 show fight. The black bear, on the other hand, from living 

 near villages has partly lost his fear of man, and though he 

 rarely if ever goes out of his way to attack, he will charge freely 



if cornered, or suddenly disturbed in his mid-day siesta by any- 

 one walking almost on to him. This is almost invariably the 

 reason wood-cutters and herdsmen get mauled. 



One of the best ways to shoot black bears is to have them 

 marked down into ravines or patches of dense jungle on their 

 return from feeding in the early morning, and to wait for them 

 to draw out in the evening just before sunset. As a rule Mr. 

 Bruin is pretty punctual. Shooting bears by moonlight when 

 they are feeding in the fruit trees is generally unsatisfactory 



