THE BROWN BEAR. 89 
The Bear which is most popularly known in this country is the BROWN 
BEAR; a creature which is found rather plentifully in forests and the moun- 
tainous districts of many portions of Europe and Asia. As may be supposed 
from its title, the colour of its fur is brown, slightly variable in tint in differ- 
ent indviduals, and often in the same individual at various ages. 
The size to which a well-fed and undisturbed Brown Bear will grow is 
really surprising, for although it loses its growing properties after its 
twentieth year, it seems permanently to retain the capability of enlargement, 
and when in a favourable situation will live to a very great age. The weight 
of an adult Brown Bear in good condition is very great, being sometimes 
from seven to eight hundred pounds when the creature is remarkably fine, 
and from five to six hundred pounds in ordinary cases. Mr. Falk remarks, 
that a Bear which he killed was so enormously heavy, that when slung on a 
pole it was a weighty burden for ten bearers. 
Ants form a favourite article of diet with a Bear, which scrapes their nests 
out of the earth with its powerful talons, and laps up the ants and their 
so-called “eggs” with its ready tongue. Bees and their sweet produce are 
greatly to the taste of the Bear, which is said to make occasional raids upon 
the beehives, and to plunder their contents. 
Vegetables of various kinds are also eaten by the Bear, and in the selec- 
tion of these dainties the animal evinces considerable taste. According to 
Mr. Lloyd, “the Bear feeds on roots, and the leaves and small limbs of the 
aspen, mountain-ash, and other trees: he is also fond of succulent plants, 
such as angelica, mountain-thistle, &c. To berries he is likewise very partial, 
and during the autumnal months, when they are ripe, he devours vast quan- 
tities of cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cloudberries, and 
other berries common to the Scandinavian forests. Ripe corn he also eats, 
and sometimes commits no small havoc amongst it; for seating himself, as 
it is said, on his haunches in a field of it, he collects with his outstretched 
arms nearly a sheaf at a time, the ears of which he then devours.” 
During the autumn the Bear becomes extremely fat, in consequence of the 
ample feasts which it is able to enjoy, and makes its preparations for passing 
the cold and inhospitable months of winter. About the end of October the 
Bear has completed its winter house, and ceases feeding for the year. 
A curious phenomenon now takes place in the animal’s digestive organs, 
which gives it the capability of remaining through the entire winter in a state 
of lethargy, without food, and yet without losing condition. — 
From the end of October to the middle of April the Bear remains in his 
den, in a dull lethargic state of existence; and it is a curious fact that if a 
hibernating Bear be discovered and killed in its den, it is quite as fat as if it 
had been slain before it retired to its resting-place. Experienced hunters say 
that even at the end of its five months’ sleep, the Bear is as fat as_at its be- 
ginning. Sometimes it is said that the Bear partially awakes, and in that case 
it immediately loses its sleek condition, and becomes extremely thin. During 
the winter the Bear gains a new skin on the balls of the feet, and Mr. Lloyd 
suggests that the curious habit of sucking the paws,to which Bears are so 
prone, is in order to facilitate the growth of the new integument. 
The Bear is possessed of several valuable accomplishments, being a won- 
derful climber of trees and rocks, aa excellent swimmer, and a good digger. 
The number of cubs which the female Bear produces is from one to four, 
and they are very small during the first few days of their existence. They 
make their appearance at the end of January or the beginning of February, 
and it is a curious fact that, although the mother has at the time been de- 
prived of food for nearly three months, and does not take any more food 
until the spring, she is able to afford ample nourishment toher young with- 
