BEARS. 13 



be approached from the leeward to within a very short distance, and the writer 

 has shot many in the Himalaya with a smooth-bore gun. Care should, however, 

 always be taken to approach a bear from above, as a wounded one rolling down 

 hill on to the hunter is a very dangerous object. If two bears are feeding together 

 and one is hit by a bullet, it will not unfrequently turn fiercely on its companion, 

 apparently under the impression that the latter was its aggressor. In the 

 Himalaya, at least, the brown bear never voluntarily attacks human beings if 

 unmolested, and it rarely turns on them when wounded, unless brought to close 

 quarters. There is but little doubt that the current stories of the fierceness of 

 the European bear are exaggerated. In regard to the proverbial " hug," Mr. 

 Blanford observes that the story is apparently devoid of foundation. " A bear, 

 from its anatomical structure, strikes round with its paws, as if grasping, and 

 the blow of its powerful arm drives its claws into the body of its victim, causing 

 terrible wounds, but the idea of its 'hugging' appears not confirmed by recent 

 observers." 



At the best, a brown bear is uncouth and grotesque in its movements, 

 and in no case is this more marked than when one of these animals suddenly 

 catches a whiff of human scent, and starts off with a loud "whuff" at a 

 shambling gallop. In spite, however, of their uncouthness, bears can travel 

 pretty quickly when so minded, although their usual gait is deliberate in the 

 extreme. 



The brown bear is easily tamed, and both in Europe and India is the companion 

 of itinerant showmen, by whom it is taught to dance, and go through various 

 other performances. Formerly native English bears, and subsequently foreign 

 ones imported for the purpose, were kept in England for the purpose of " bear- 

 baiting," and the office of Master of the Bears was a Crown post, while every 

 nobleman kept his " bear- ward." Bear-baiting was continued up to the reign of 

 Queen Anne. The well-known bear-garden at Berne in Switzerland is doubtless 

 a survival of the mediaeval establishments kept up for this so-called sport. As 

 showing the age to which the brown bear may live, it is worthy of mention that 

 one kept in the garden at Berne survived for upwards of forty-seven years, while 

 it is on record that a female gave birth to young at the age of thirty-one years. 

 From the beauty of their colour, and the length of their fur, the skins of the 

 Himalayan brown bear, if procured early in the spring, are held in high 

 estimation. 



We have already mentioned that fossil remains, referred to the brown bear, 

 have been found in the superficial deposits of Ireland ; and it may be added that 

 bones and teeth undoubtedly belonging to this species occur in the fens, brick- 

 earths, and caverns of this country, as well as the corresponding deposits of the 

 continent. Whether the remains from the same formations that have been 

 assigned to the grizzly bear do not likewise belong to the European species, may, 

 we think, be a subject of doubt. 



Crowther's bear (U. croivtheri) is a closely-allied if not identical form from 

 the Atlas Mountains, and it is probable that a bear exists in Morocco and Algeria 

 which may be either the common brown bear or Crowther's bear, if the latter be 

 distinct. 



