THE RACCOON FAMILY 109 



The Spectacled Bear is so very rare in. captivity that 

 ten years of constant effort were required before we finally 

 secured, in 1910, our first specimen for the New York Zoo- 

 logical Park. It came from Quito, and but for the fact that 

 it was procured in that city and forwarded to us by a life 

 member of the Zoological Society, Mr. Edgar Beecher Bronson, 

 it never would have reached us. A portrait of "Frederico" 

 is shown herewith. This animal stood 28 inches in height, 

 its length was 623/^ + 2)^ inches, and it weighed 143 pounds. 



The Andean Black Bear {Ursus ornatus thomasi), a sub- 

 species of the preceding, is very much like the spectacled bear, 

 but it lacks the spectacle markings around the eyes. In 1909 

 the Zoological Park received a specimen from the southern 

 mountains of the United States of Colombia. 



THE RACCOON FAMILY 



. Procyonidae 



The Raccoon,^ placed next to the bears, is also planti- 

 grade in its manner of walking. It is a cheerfully persistent 

 animal, and no amount of hunting discourages it or drives 

 it away from its favorite haunts. It is at home in the tim- 

 bered regions of the southern and eastern United States, 

 especially where there are swamps, — for the Raccoon loves to 

 play in water. In the West it ranges from Arizona to British 

 Columbia. 



Its favorite dwelling-place is a hollow tree, and its yearly 

 family consists of five or six young. In its appetite it is as 

 omnivorous as any bear, and eats everything that it can chew, 



' Pro'cy-on lo'tor. 



