6*4 ANIMALS IN MENAGERIES. 



only was he attacked, by a female anxious for the safety 

 of her cubs, and he had then a narrow escape : his gun, 

 unfortunately, missed fire ; but he managed to keep the 

 bear at bay with it until some of his companions came 

 up and drove her off.* 



It is singular, that the young grisly bear can climb 

 trees with facility ; but when full grown they are unable 

 to do so, as the Indians report, from the form of its 

 claws. Several instances are known, where a hunter has 

 been held a close prisoner for many hours by the in- 

 furiated animal keeping watch below. Several interest- 

 ing anecdotes of these contests are upon record, for which 

 the reader is referred to the narratives of Lewis and 

 Clarke, to major Longs, and to Godman's Natural 

 History of America. 



During winter the females and the young males 

 hibernate, but the older males often come abroad in 

 quest of food : they occasionally eat vegetables, but 

 show a decided preference for animal food. As this 

 bear quits its den be forethe snow disappears, its foot- 

 marks are frequently seen in the spring ; and these, 

 being enlarged by the weight of the animal, and the 

 breaking of the crust of ice around, frequently appear 

 very large : these impressions, somewhat obscured by 

 partial thaw, have been thought to be the footsteps of 

 some enormously large quadruped ; and have given rise 

 to the idea of live mammoths existing in the solitary 

 ranges of the Rocky Mountains. 



The geographical range of this species is very ex- 

 tensive. Dr. Richardson says it inhabits the Rocky 

 Mountains and the plains to the eastward, and lieutenant 

 Pike affirms that it extends southward as far as Mexico. 



The fur is long, and mostly of a dark brown colour, 

 with paler tips; there is also a mixture of grey hairs 

 on the head. The muzzle is pale, without the dark 

 central stripe seen in the black species: it is further 

 distinguished, both from that and the brown bear, by 

 shorter and more conic ears, placed further apart ; and 

 * North. Zool. i. 28. 



