THE BLACK BEAR. 317 



cooling its heated frame. Its digging capabilities are brought into use on many occasions, 

 such as the demolition of an ants' 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 appearance 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, how- 

 ever, 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 shoulders and front of the neck, the hair is so perpendicularly set, 

 and projects so firmly, that it gives the appearance of a mane, somewhat resembling that of 

 the hyena. 



At the present day, the Syrian Bear may be found in the mountainous parts of Palestine, 

 and has been frequently seen upon the higher Lebanon mountains. The summit of the moun- 

 tain itself is composed of two snow-clad peaks, and it is remarkable that the Bear has only 

 been found on one of these peaks, " Makmel," as it is called, while the other— Gebel Sanin— is 

 apparently free from these animals. The Bear appears to remain upon the upper portions 

 of the mountains during the hours of daylight, but as soon as the evening draws near it 

 descends from its rocky fastness in search of food, and often causes considerable alarm to the 

 traveller. 



America furnishes several species of the Bear tribe, two of which, the Grizzly Bear and 

 the MusQUAw, or Black Bear, are the most conspicuous. 



The Black Bear is found in many parts of Northern America, and was formerly seen in 

 great plenty. But as the fur and the fat are articles of great commercial and social value, the 

 hunters have exercised their craft with such determination that the Black Bears are sensibly 

 diminishing in number. The fur of the Black Bear is not so roughly shaggy as that of the 

 European or the Syrian Bear, but is smooth and glossy in its appearance, so that it presents a 



