108 WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 
In a fish country he searches for fish and oc- 
casionally catches live ones; but he is too rest- 
less or shiftless to be a good fisherman. I have 
seen him catch fish by thrusting his nose in root 
entanglements in the edge of a brook; sometimes 
he captures salmon or trout that are struggling 
through shallow ripples. 
Occasionally he catches a rabbit or a bird. 
But most of his meat is stale, with the killing 
of which he had nothing to do. He will de- 
vour carrion that has the accumulated smell 
of weeks of corruption. He catches more mice 
than a cat; and in the realm of economic biology 
he should be rated as useful. He consumes 
many other pests. 
The black bear is—or was—pretty well distrib- 
uted over North America. His colour and activi- 
ties vary somewhat with the locality, this being 
due perhaps to a difference of climate and food 
supply. 
Everywhere, however, he is very much the 
same. Wherever found he has the hibernating 
habit. This is most developed in the colder 
localities. Commonly he is fat at the close of 
autumn; and as a preliminary to his long winter 
rest he makes a temporary nest where for a few 
days he fasts and sleeps. 
With his stomach completely empty he re- 
tires into hibernating quarters for the winter. 
