THE AMERICAN BLACK BEAR. 
Ursus AMERICANUS. Pattas. 
WE have now arrived at the closing group of the true 
Carnivora; a group which, although less sanguinary in 
its habits than almost any of those which we have 
hitherto had occasion to notice, and endowed by nature 
with a capacity of subsisting entirely on vegetable sub- 
stances, comprehends nevertheless, among the closely 
allied species of which it is composed, not merely the 
largest, but even some of the most formidable, of the 
carnivorous Mammalia. 
Both in outward shape and internal characters, these 
clumsy, sluggish, and uncouth animals offer a perfect 
contrast to the light, active, and elegant forms of the 
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