THE BEAR FAMILY. 



243 



venient tree, while old and experienced Foxes fre- 

 quently foil their deadly enemies by all kinds of 

 tricks and artifices. Audubon seems to think it sur- 

 prising that a Fox should climb a tree, while we, 

 who judge from the specimens of skill furnished by 

 Master Reynard, do not share his opinion. So agile 

 an animal as a Fox sees no insurmountable obsta- 

 cles to climbing a tree with low reaching branches, 

 gnarls and other excrescences while the clumsy 

 Dog is unable to imitate it in this respect. 



How the Practically, the same that has been said 

 Gray Fox is about the hunting and other methods 



Hunted. of extermination of the Common Fox 

 will likewise hold true in respect to the Gray Fox. 

 Traps the most manifold are used in America also, 

 to overpower the annoying rascal, and the hunt 'is 

 followed as diligently as in England. Captive Gray 

 Foxes behave like their European kinsman in all 

 essentials, but are said never to become completely 

 tame and always to suffer from an unconquerable 

 yearning after liberty. It is said to be especially 



difficult to break them of their tendency to bite; at 

 least Audubon affirms that he never saw a captive 

 animal of this species which would have become 

 more than half tame. In one respect the Gray 

 Fox differs from its relatives to its advantage : it is 

 not possessed of their unpleasant odor. 



The skin of the Gray Foxes is of slight value, 

 owing to its short and coarse hair, and it is gener- 

 ally used as a lining for traveling coats. According^ 

 to Lomer about twenty-five thousand skins are sold 

 annually, and they command a price ranging from 

 about a dollar to a dollar and a half apiece. 



The Coast ^'^^ °^ '•^^ lowest forms of the vulpine family 

 Fox a Small '^ shown in the Coast Fox ( Vulpes littoralis), an 

 Species American species, found along the Pacific coast 

 " ■ from Central America north to Oregon and Brit- 

 ish Columbia. It has weak jaws, small teeth, short, slender 

 limbs and a not very stout body. The fur is black on the 

 back, a cinnamon brown on the sides, and the sides and under 

 portion of the muzzle are black. There is also a stripe of 

 black along the upper surface of the tail. Its nearest relative 

 is the Gray Fox, but it is much inferior to the latter in strength 

 and agility as well as in size. 



Zbc Beat jFamll^. 



SIXTH FAMILY: Ursid^. 



The last family of the order Carnivora consists of 

 animals which we knew and loved in the days of our 

 childhood. The Bears (^Ursidce) are animals so dis- 

 tinguished that probably everybody can recognize 

 them at a glance; but the smaller species differ from 

 the larger ones in many respects, and with some w'e 

 are yet doubtful whether we should place them in 

 this family at all. 



General The body of the larger Bears is thick 

 Characteristics set, while that of the smaller ones is 

 of Bears. sometimes slender ; the head is of a 

 rounded, elongated shape, with a pointed and usu- 

 ally truncated muzzle, the neck is relatively short 

 and thick; the ears are short and the eyes compara- 

 tively small; the limbs are of medium length, both 

 hind and front paws being five-toed and provided 

 with large, curved, immovable, non-retractile claws, 

 which consequently are frequently much blunted at 

 their tips. The soles of the feet touch the ground 

 for their entire length in walking, and are almost 

 entirely hairless. The teeth are from thirty-six to 

 forty in number and consist of six incisors above 

 and below, four canines or eye-teeth, from two to 

 four premolars above and below or two above and 

 three below, and lastly two upper and from two to 

 three lower molars. The incisors or cutting teeth 

 are relatively large, and harmonize with the strong 

 canines, which latter are generally provided with 

 edges and ridges. The premolars, on the other 

 hand, are of plain conical shape or furnished with a 

 few insignificant tubercles; the carnassial tooth is 

 very weak, and is even absent in some species, while 

 with others it is only a strong premolar with an inner 

 tubercle. The grinders are flat, those of the lower 

 jaw being always longer than they are wide. The 

 brain part of the skull is elongated and marked with 

 strong ridges; the cervical vertebrae are short and 

 strong, as also are the nineteen or twenty dorsal 



vertebrae, to which fourteen or fifteen pairs of ribs 

 are attached. The sacrum consists of from three to 

 five vertebrae, the tail of from seven to thirty-four. 

 The tongue is smooth, the stomach is simple, the 

 small and large intestines do not differ markedly; 

 and the caecum, or blind process, is absent. 



Where Bears are Bears existed in former periods. At 

 Found — Their present they extend all over Europe, 

 Habits. Asia and America and part of north- 



western Africa. They inhabit the warmest as well 

 as the coldest of countries, high mountains as well 

 as the coasts of the Arctic Sea. Nearly all species 

 select dense, extensive forests or rocky regions, 

 generally lonely spots. Some delight in watery or 

 damp situations, streams, rivers, lakes, swamps and 

 the sea, while others prefer stretches of dry land. 

 One species is confined to the sea-coast and seldom 

 penetrates the depths of the continent, but still un- 

 dertakes more extensive migrations than the others, 

 traversing great distances on drift ice, crossing the 

 northern Arctic Ocean and migrating from one con- 

 tinent to the other. AH other species roam about 

 within narrower limits. Most Bears live singly, or 

 male and female together only during the breeding 

 season; but some are gregarious and unite into larger 

 bands. Some dig holes in the earth or in the sand, 

 and use them for their lair, others take shelter in 

 hollow trees or in clefts of rock. Most species are 

 nocturnal or semi-nocturnal in their habits, go forth 

 to hunt after sunset and spend the day sleeping in 

 their hiding places. 



Bears are More than the other Beasts of Prey, 



Omniuorous the Bears seem to be omnivorous in 

 Animals. the full sense of the word, and able to 

 subsist on vegetable food alone for a long time. 

 They not only devour edible fruit and berries, but 

 also corn, ripe or half-ripe grains, roots, juicy herbs, 

 buds, etc. Captive Bears have subsisted on oats- 



