THE BROWN BEAR 



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and flesh, but it prefers, as a rule, a vegetable diet. It is only when 

 this fails that it preys upon other animals. 



In the colder districts the brown bear, when winter approaches, 

 creeps into a cave or hollow tree, and sleeps until the approach of 

 spring. During this long nap it is kept alive by the thick layers 



Brown Bears. (From a Photograph) 



of fat that have accumulated upon its body during the summer 

 months. This fat is gradually exhausted until, when the bear 

 awakes and creeps forth from his den, he is a scraggy, pitiable 

 object, as compared with the plump beast that settled down for 

 its winter nap some months before. This habit of hibernating, 

 as it is called, enables the bear to tide over the winter when it 

 . might otherwise starve for lack of its ordinary food. 



The brown bear can be easily tamed, and as it possesses a large 

 share of intelligence, can be taught to dance and perform tricks. 



The great naturalist Herr Brehm, in his book IVi/d Life and 



(M868) G 



