II2 HUNTING AND FISHING IN FLORIDA. 
Famity PROCYONID. THE Raccoons. 
PROCYON LOTOR (Zznz.). 
Raccoon. 
Common. Somewhat smaller and more rusty in color than North- 
ern specimens. 
In Florida the raccoon likes swampy places ; it is usually com- 
mon near the seacoast, as it is particularly partial to crabs and fish. 
Famity URSIDE. Tue Bears. 
URSUS AMERICANUS ali. 
Black Bear. 
Most common near the seacoast in unsettled portions of the 
State. The Florida bear equals and perhaps exceeds in size its 
Northern relative. 
Bears are claimed to have been killed which weighed over six 
hundred pounds, and I, myself, have shot specimens which would 
weigh in the vicinity of five hundred pounds. One large male 
which I did not weigh measured fifty-six inches (tight measure) 
around the belly, and six feet two and one half inches from nose 
to tail. This bear was fat and in good condition. One of the claws 
measured three and one fourth inches, measured on the curve. 
The Black Bear hibernates in Florida, as it does elsewhere in the 
United States, usually remaining hidden from about Christmas time 
until March. The flesh of a young one is palatable, and the oil is 
much esteemed by the Indians and hunters, and is used for cooking 
purposes as a substitute for lard. 
Late in the fall bears seek localities where berries of the ‘* scrub” 
palmetto are abundant, in some seasons.’ When berries are abund- 
ant the bears become very fat. After their winter sleep they 
wander about a good deal, feeding upon the crabs which they find 
on the beach and the buds of the mangrove trees, as well as the 
cabbage of the palmetto palm, and at this season a pig is a welcome 
addition to their larder. Still later in the season, during June, 
they hunt the beaches for turtles’ eggs, of which they are very fond. 
