74 TIESID^. 



in India, and now and then a daring sportsman gets mauled severely by a 

 wounded bear, whilst many others have had narrow escapes of a close 

 embrace of their grisly foe. In the extreme south of India, among the 

 Polygars of the hills, bears used to be hunted by strong fierce dogs, and 

 when held at bay by them, the native sportsmen each thrust a long bamboo 

 loaded with strong bixd-lime into the shaggy coat of their quarry, and thus 

 firmly held their struggling prey. This practice I understand has of late 

 years almost fallen into disuse." 



The huge Polar bear, Z7. maritmus, L., is the type of Tludarctos of 

 Gray. There are some bears on the Andes in South America. 



The only other form belonging to the bears which inhabits our province 

 is the following remarkable animal, and which differs sufBciently to have 

 beea classed by Gray in a sub-family Ailurina. 



Gen. AiLURus, F. Cuvier. 



g 5 5 



Char. — Incisors -r- ; molars ^ — -. The crowns of the posterior molars 

 6 fa — 6 



furnished with salient but truncated tubercles ; head sub-globose, broad ; 



cheeks tumid ; ears short, acute, distant, hairy ; eyes well in front near the 



nose ; tail equal to the body, cylindric, with long spreading hair ; soles clad 



with fine down ; claws falcate, compressed, sharp, partly retractile. 



This curious genus has been considered to have points of resemblance 



to Badgers and Eacoons, and also to Cercoleptes, and by some even has 



been compared in external appearance with certain Lemurs, but there is no 



doubt that its nearest afSnities are with the Bears, whilst it has one or 



two points of affinity with the Feliiim or Vivemnw, viz., its semi-retractile 



talons, and the structure of its genital organs. There is only one known 



species. 



93. Ailurus fulgens. 



F. CnviER, Mamm. III. pi. 52. — Blyth, Cat. 219. — Hardwicke, Lin. 

 Trans. XV. 161. — A. ochracms, Ronasos.—Wdh, of Nepal. — Wdh-donka, 

 Bhot. — Surinam or Suh-ruim, Lepch. — Negalya ponya, of the Nepalese. 



The Ked Cat-bear. 



Descr. — Above deep ochreous-red ; head and tail paler, and somewhat 

 fulvous, displayed on the tail in rings ; face, chin, and ears within white ; 

 ears externally, all the lower surface and the entire limbs and tip of tail 



