THE SYRIAN BEAR, OR DUBB. 395 



and when he does so, it is generally because he is rendered desperate by the pangs of 

 hunger. In such a case, the Bear is greatly to be dreaded by the benighted traveller, 

 especially if he happen to be journeying alone and has no companion who may share 

 his watch. 



That wild beasts of all kinds are scared away by fire is a well-known fact, but the 

 hungry Bear is of so cunning a nature that it even sets at defiance the flaming circle 

 which would at other times afford a secure protection to the sleeping traveller. It is true 

 that the Bear does not venture to cross the fiery barrier, but it contrives to avoid the 

 difficulty in a most ingenious manner. Going to the nearest stream, it immerses itself 

 into the water so as to saturate its fur with moisture, and then, returning to the spot 

 where the intended prey lies asleep, the animal rolls over the flaming embers, quenching 

 the glowing brands, and then makes its attack upon the sleeper. This curious fact is 

 well known among the natives of Siberia, so that they have good grounds for the 

 respect in which they hold the Bear's intellectual powers. 



The Bear is possessed of several valuable accomplishments, being a wonderful climber 

 of trees and rocks, an excellent swimmer, and a good digger. 



During the time when it is engaged in feeding, the Bear is constantly in the habit of 

 climbing up all kinds of elevated spots, for the purpose of obtaining food, either 

 vegetable or animal. Leaves of various trees are a favorite article of diet with the 







animal, as are also the nests of the wild bees and ants. Trusting to its powers of 

 swimming, the Bear does not hesitate to cross considerable rivers in search of food or 

 in order to escape from its enemies, and it is in the habit of taking frequent baths during 

 the hotter months of the year for the sake of cooling its heated frame. Its digging 

 capabilities are brought into use on many occasions, such as the demolition of an ant's 

 nest previous to swallowing the inhabitants, or in scraping for itself a comfortable 

 habitation for the winter. 



The number of cubs which the female Bear produces is from one to four, and they 

 are very small during the first few days of their existence. They make their appear- 

 ance at the end of January or the beginning of February, and it is a curious fact that, 

 although the mother has at the time been deprived of food for nearly three months, and 

 does not take any more food until the spring, she is able to afford ample nourishment 

 to her young without suffering any apparent diminution in her condition. It is said by 

 those who have had personal experience of the habits of the Bear, that the mother takes 

 the greatest care of her offspring during the summer, but that when winter approaches, 

 she does not suffer them to partake of her residence, but prepares winter quarters for 

 them in her immediate neighborhood. During the winter, another little family is born, 

 and when they issue forth from their home, they are joined by the elder cubs, and the 

 two families pass the next winter in the mother's den. 



The SYRIAN BEAR, which is otherwise known by the names of DUBB, or RITCK, is 

 doubly interesting to us, not only on account of its peculiarly gentle character, but from 

 the fact that it is the animal which is so often mentioned in the Scriptural writings under 

 the title of the Bear. The animals which are represented as issuing from the wood and 

 avenging the insults offered to Elisha, and the Bear which David attacked and killed 

 in defence of his flock, belonged to the species which is now known by the name of the 

 Syrian Bear. 



Even at the present day, the precise number of species into which the members of 

 the Bear tribe are resolvable, is not very satisfactorily ascertained. It seems evident, 

 however, that the Ritck, Isabella Bear, or Syrian Bear, may fairly be considered as a 

 separate species. 



The color of this animal is rather peculiar, and varies extremely during the different 

 periods of its life. While it is in its earliest years, the color of its fur is a grayish- 

 brown, but as the animal increases in years, the fur becomes gradually lighter in tint, and 

 when the Bear has attained maturity, is nearly white. The hair is long and slightly 

 curled, and beneath the longer hair is a thick and warm covering of closely-set woolly 

 fur, which seems to defend the animal from the extremes of heat or cold. Along the 



