110 WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 
these tiny, helpless little bears rarely weigh 
more than half a pound. I suppose if they were 
larger their mother would not be able to nourish 
them, on account of having to endure the hiber- 
nating fast for a month or so after their birth. 
In May, when the cubs and their mother 
emerge from the dark den, the cubs are most 
cunning, and lively little balls of fur they are! 
By this time they are about the weight and size 
of a cottontail rabbit. In colour they may be 
black, cinnamon, or cream. 
As with the grizzly, the colour has nothing to 
do with the species. With black bears, how- 
ever, if the fur is black his claws are also black; 
or if brown the claws match the colour of the fur. 
With the grizzly the colour of claws and fur often 
do not match. 
Few more interesting exhibitions of play are 
to be seen than that of cubs with their mother. 
Often, for an hour at a time, the mother lies in a. 
lazy attitude and allows the cubs to romp all 
over her and maul her to their hearts’ content. 
The mother will defend her cubs with cunning, 
strength, and utmost bravery. Nothing is more 
pathetic in the wild world than the attachment 
shown by the actions of the whimpering cubs 
over the body of their dead mother. They will 
struggle with utmost desperation to prevent be- 
ing torn away from it. 
