145 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE AMEKICA^' BLACK: BEAR. 



TRSrS AMEEICAXrS. 



Characteristics. — Black ; a brown or yello^\'ish patch on 

 each side of the nose. 



Description. — Oval erect ears, rounded at the tips; the 

 hair projects slightly beyond the claws, which are short and 

 blunt. Long, shining, straight, and rather soft fur. 



Colour. — Generally black, though in some instances a 

 brownish tinge is observable in the fur; the sides of the nose 

 are of a fa^vn colour. Very often found with a dash of 

 white under the throat, and rarely, though sometimes they 

 have been found, with a white star in the forehead. 



Found from Mexico to Labrador, and from the Atlantic 

 to th6 Pacific. 



rFHE black bear is found throughout the American 

 -*- continent, except in a very small district to the 

 north-east, where civilisation has dislodged him from 

 the country. They abound in the extreme North 

 Canada and the snow-bound regions of the Hudson's 

 Bay territory ; and in the Southern States, in Missis- 

 sippi, in Louisiana, in Arkansas, in Texas, and Florida, 

 the bear-hunt still ranks amongst the established field 



