BEARS IN CAPTIVITY 83 



of food, they quarrel and fight, and their tempers become 

 savage and dangerous. 



Contrary to general belief, a bear is naturally cheerful 

 and good-tempered. Elk, deer, buffalo, elephants, and large 

 cats often attack their keepers, but bears that have been 

 properly reared in captivity seldom do so. A keeper should 

 have no bear "pets," and every bear over one year old should 

 always be made to keep away from his attendants. With 

 bears, familiarity is dangerous. 



The bear dens of the New York Zoological Park contained 

 (in 1914) thirty-nine bears, of eighteen different species, liv- 

 ing in peace and harmony, in eleven paved yards. Fully 

 one-half of their waking hours are spent in romping, wres- 

 tling, boxing, and swimming, and ill temper is rarely shown. 

 The keepers go among these bears with pick handles for de- 

 fence, and the great brutes are hustled about and driven to 

 and fro as if they were so many sheep. At the same time, 

 any visitor who is so unwise as to thrust a hand between 

 the bars within reach of the jaws of any of the inmates is 

 certain to be very severely bitten, — in playfulness rather than 

 rage! In their rough play these bears continually bite each 

 other, without inflicting injury; and they do not appreciate 

 the difference between a tender human hand and a tough, 

 hairy paw. 



Never offer a finger to a carnivorous animal unless you 

 really wish to have it bitten off. And do not feed peanuts, 

 candy, peaches, or tobacco to animals in captivity. If you 

 wish to kill any of them, a gun is far more respectable, and 

 also more merciful. 



