834 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVII. 



said he would run down and tell the owner and so gave me and my Maho- 

 medan shikari time to despatch it by twisting its neck round and bringing the 

 back of an axe down behind its ears 



Out of about a dozen fresh kills by bears that I have seen, only one, and 

 that a fine big buffalo, was mauled about the neck and shoulders, otherwise all 

 must have been killed in a similar manner to the one above described, vis., 

 caught by the quarters and literally torn to pieces when the bear got his 

 victim down. 



In some cases I believe the stomach is torn out, but of course I could not tell 

 whether this had been done before or after death, though I have seen a pony, 

 which ultimately escaped, frightfully torn between the thighs and all about the 

 stomach. 



One enormous old patriarch, which I was fortunate in bagging a few months 

 ago, was a notorious cattle killer but a very clumsy operator, as he appeared to 

 maim more than he ever killed. This was perhaps owing to his very blunt 

 teeth, which were really only enlarged stumps, and he also lacked one eye and 

 was simply skin and bone, with a coat more like the cattle he killed or 

 mangled, with huge scars showing through the thin hair. In spite of his poor 

 condition, he weighed 4501bs and had a girth of 45" round the chest and 

 altogether was the thickest set bear I have ever seen, though not a long one. 

 Females with cubs generally do more cattle-killing than any others, but some 

 old males, when once they take to it } are regular fiends. It is evident a bear 

 was never intended for killing animals from the filthy job he makes of it, very 

 different from the bloodless business that a tiger's or panther's is. U. arctus 

 (The Brown Bear) is a much cleaner killer, but then of course he restricts his 

 depredations to goats and sheep, which he can kill with one blow of his power- 

 ful paw. I have only seen two fresh kills by brown bears and neither had a 

 tooth or claw mark on them, though shepherds have told me that sometimes 

 he carries them off alive, as they hear the sheep or goat bleating as he goes. I 

 have never heard of a brown bear attacking cattle though he does not hesitate 

 about eating a cow or a buffalo if he finds one dead. Both kinds are cannibals 

 as well. 



Bhadarwa, Kashmir, 12th October 1906. C. H. DONALD. 



No. XXI.— A BEAR'S KILL IN A TREE. 

 With reference to Mr. Comber's query on page 518 of this Vol., the follow- 

 ing experience which I had a few years ago, may be of interest. Khubber 

 of a bear having killed a bullock being brought, I started off to try my luck, as 

 of all animals I think a bear on his kill is the easiest to bag, for if away from 

 a village, he seldom troubles to leave the kill at all, but, after his feed, lies up 

 within a few yards of it. On this occasion I was annoyed to find, on approaching 

 the place, half a dozen men with dogs making a frightful row, so swore at the 

 man for bringing me on what I felt sure would be a wild goose chase, as no 

 animal would stop with such a hullabaloo going on. He however appeared as 



