Jungle By-Ways in India 



a white horseshoe mark on the chest. This latter, 

 by the way, is the place to aim at should a bear 

 stand up to close with you. 



Burke, in the Indian Field Shikar Book, quotes 

 the largest bear he has record of as 7 feet i inch 

 in length-, with a girth of 4 feet 4f inches. He 

 gives the average measurements as follows : head 

 and body from 4 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches ; 

 tail, 4 to 5 inches without hair ; height at shoulder, 

 2 feet 2 inches to 2 feet 9 inches ; weight, 170 to 

 nearly 800 lbs. 



If you want to find Bruin at home you must 

 repair to the nearest rocky hills in your neighbour- 

 hood, where, in the daytime, you will probably 

 find him in the recesses of some dark cave entered 

 by a tunnel-like black opening in the rock, or by 

 some cliff or fissure. These caves often have more 

 than one entrance, so that it is necessary to exer- 

 cise some caution and circumspection if you do 

 not want your quarry to escape you. It is here 

 that the mother brings up her young, which 

 generally number two, and are born in December 

 or January, the period of gestation being from 

 six to seven months. The young ones are blind 

 for the first three weeks after birth. 



The sloth bear does not hibernate in the winter 

 months. He is nocturnal in his habits, issuing 

 from his cave retreat in the late evening and re- 

 turning to it at the earliest dawn. He is a clumsy 

 and awkward mover, especially when cHmbing, 



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