CARNARIA 83 



and nocturnal life of the Inscctirora, and, like them, Lave no erf cum : most of those "^vhich 

 inhabit cold countries pass the winter in a state of lethargy. All have five toes to eacli foot. 



The Beaus {Ursus, Lin.) — 



Possess three large molars on each side of both ja^vs*, altogether tuberculous, and of which the poste- 

 rior above are the most extended. These arc preceded ly a tooth a Utile more trenchant, which is the 

 carnivorous tooth of this genus f, and by a variable number of very small fiilse molars, which sometimes 

 fall at an early age. This system of dentition, almost frugivorous, explains why, notwithstanding their 

 great strength, the animals of this genus devour flesh only from necessity. 



They are large stout-bodied animals, with thick Unibs, and tail extremely short : the cartilage of their 

 nose is elongated and moveable. They excavate dens and construct huts [?], where they pass the 

 winter hi a state of sonmolency more or less profound, and without taking food. It is in these retreats 

 that the female brings forth. 



The species are not easily disting^uished by obvious characters. 



The Krown Bear ( U. arcios, Lin.) of Europe, has the forehead convex : fur, bi-owii, more or less woolly when 

 yuuii;^, becoming: smoother with age. It varies, however, considerably in colour, and also in tlie relative propor- 

 tion of parts: the youug- have generally a pale collar, which in some is permanent, lliis animal inhabits tlie 

 high mountains and extensive forests of Europe, together with a great part of Asia. [The Barren-ground Bear of 



North America appears to be undistin^uishable.] 

 It couples in June, and brings forth in January; 

 nestles sometimes veo' high up in trees; its flesh 

 is good eating when young, and the paws are much 

 esteemed at all ages. [The Black Bear of Europe 

 is now generally regarded as a mere variety.] 



The Black Bear {U. amen'catn/s, Gm.) of North 

 America, is a species well distinguished, with a 

 flat forehead, smooth and black fur, and fulvous 

 muzzle. We have always found the small teeth 

 behind its canines to be more numerous than In 

 the Bear of Elurope. It lives chiefly on wild fruits, 

 and where fish is abundant sometimes frequents 

 the shores for the purpose of catching it; resorts 

 to flesh only in default of other food, [and is then 

 destructive to Pigs ; is a great devourer of honey, 

 in comniOTi with most others of the genus] : its 

 flesh is highly esteemed. There is another Black 

 Bear found in the Cordilleras, with white throat 

 and muzzle, and large fulvous eye-brows {U. or- 

 nattis, F. Cuv.), [considered by niany to be a variety of U. amcricanus. The Jardhi des Planies, however, has lately 

 received a Bear from the I'eruvian Andes, which appears very distinct : colour of U. arcios, with larger ears. 



The gigantic Grisly Bear {U. ferox), now a well-known species, from the Rocky Mountains of North America, is 

 the most formidable of all the land Bears, and by much the largest. It can oidy ascend trees, as the others do, 

 when young. It constitutes the ill-characterized subgenus Danis of Gray. 



The Syrian Bear {V. sj/riacu^) is of a fulvous white colour, with a stifl" mane uf close erected hairs be- 

 tween the shoulders. The species which inhabits the Atlas chain of mountains remains to be ascertained.] 

 The East Indies produce several Bears of a black colour ; such as 



Tlie Malayan Bear (U. malmiamis) ; from the peninsula beyond the Ganges to the islands of the Straits of Sunda. 

 —Sleek [with comparatively short fur], a fulvous muzzle, and heart-shaped mark of the same colour upon the chest. 

 [This, and another species, or perhaps variety, (U. euryxjnlus,) with the whole chest fulvous, from Borneo, consti- 

 tute the division lielarctas of Horslield, or the Sun Bears. They are small, and of very gentle and playful dispo- 

 sition, easily rendered quite tame.] It is very injurious to the cocoa-nut trees, which it climbs in order to devour 

 the tops, and drink the milk of the fruit. 



The Thibet Bear {,U. thibeticus, F. Cuv.)— Black ; the under lip, and a large mark in the form of a Y on the 

 breast, white ; profile straight and claws weak. [Is intermediate to the preceding and next species.] From the 

 mountains in the north of India. 



The most remarkable, however, of all these Indian Bears is the following, of which Illiger forms his genus 

 Prochilns. 



Fitr. 2-1 



" We sh;ill no long 

 ninlur.stood tliHt ^vlio 

 o( tlii3 other correspoi 



■I- Altlioiigli it mav 



■opeat the words o 

 the moliirs of uiie 



seem presuiiiptunu 



■iich si/ic, &c. ; it being 

 le are spoLoQ of, those 



riKlit ii 



of tlli: 



npnrison of the Bear's lientition with thnt of pro.\i 

 he third lootli in successiou fnim beliind rejireseiii 

 ■niviirous tooth i[i eacli jaw, there being- two tubere 

 lis and the five succcedinij g^cucra (ivhieh toi,'ether 

 t iiiitural group), iind one onlv in ilie reiiA:tiiidcr.— ] 

 G -' 



