20 CARNIVORES. 



the den is a great hole or cave dug into the side of a knoll, and generally under 

 some standing tree, whose roots serve as side-posts to the entrance. The amount 

 of labour bestowed upon it depends upon the length of time the bear expects to 

 hibernate. If the prospects point towards a severe winter, and there is a scarcity 

 of food, they "den" early, and take pains to make a comfortable nest; but when 

 they stay out late, and then " den " in a hurry, they do not take the trouble to fix 

 up their nests at all. At such times they simply crawl into any convenient shelter 

 without gathering so much as a branch of moss to soften their bed. Snow com- 

 pletes the covering, and as their breath condenses and freezes into it an icy wall 

 begins to form, and increases in thickness and extent day by day till they are soon 

 unable to escape, even if they would, and are obliged to remain in this icy cell till 

 liberated by the sun in April or May. 



The young are born about January or February, and are usually two or three in 

 number, although four have been found in a litter. It is believed that the female 

 does not give birth to young oftener than every alternate year. 



The black bear was pursued by the early colonists of North America by " still- 

 hunting," or what would be called in England stalking ; and it appears that this 

 requires much more care than in the case with other bears, since the American 

 black bear is very acute of hearing. A favourite expedient was to watch a herd 

 of pigs in the cultivated districts, upon which the bears would make a raid, 

 and could then be shot with ease. Mr. C. C. Ward writes that " sometimes the 

 black bear is hunted with dogs trained for the purpose. The dogs are not taught 

 to seize the bear, but to nip his heels, yelp around him, and retard his progress, 

 until the hunters come up and despatch him with their rifles. Common yelping 

 curs possessed of the requisite pluck are best adapted for the purpose. Large dogs 

 with sufficient courage to seize a bear would have but a small chance with him, for 

 he could disable them with one blow of his powerful paw. Another way of 

 hunting is to track Bruin to his winter den, and either smoke or dig him out, when 

 he may be despatched by a blow on the head with the pole of an axe as he struggles 

 out. Various kinds of traps, set-guns, and dead-falls are also employed against him." 



THE HIMALAYAN BLACK BEAR ( Ursus torquatus). 



With the black bear of the Himalaya we come to a very different animal, 

 readily recognised by the white chevron or inverted crescent on the chest, from which 

 it takes its scientific title, and which stands out in marked contrast to the jetty 

 black of the remainder of the fur. This species does not attain by any means such 

 large dimensions as the brown or grizzly bear ; the length from the tip of the snout 

 to the root of the tail usually averaging in Nipalese examples from about 4f to 5J 

 feet, although one specimen has been recorded measuring 6 feet 5 inches. We think, 

 however, that bears of this species from Kashmir would average somewhat larger. 



The fur is very different to that of either of the three preceding species, being 

 short and smooth, without any under fur, and becoming very thin in summer. In 

 winter the hair on the shoulders becomes considerably elongated, so as to produce 

 the appearance of a kind of hump. The ears are relatively large, and covered with 

 rather long hair. In addition to the white mark on the chest, the chin is also 



