434 Brown and Black Bears of the Himalayan Mountains. 



general colour is a fine and glossy black, with a white spot on 

 the lower lip, and large bushy whiskers. There is a variety 

 we have seen among the Sewalik hills, along the frontiers of 

 the Punjaub, having the latter spot rust coloured, with a 

 tinge of the same on the paws. All we examined of this 

 variety were relatively smaller than the others, a circumstance 

 which might be accounted for in some way by the warmer 

 climate and food in the sub-Himalayan valleys compared with 

 the same at higher elevations. The Thibet bear, when taken 

 young and reared, seldom attains the dimensions of wild indi- 

 viduals. The adult often measures 5| feet from the snout to 

 the root of the tail. The favourite haunts of the bear are the 

 thick forest jungles in the neighbourhood of cultivation, where 

 it spends the day, and issues forth at dusk to feed on Indian 

 corn, fruits, etc. It climbs with ease, and is often seen perched 

 on the highest branches of walnut and other fruit-trees. On 

 making its descent, and in particular when alarmed, it will let 

 itself " go by the run." Among the dense jungles along the 

 sides of the Duckinpara and other great valleys leading from 

 the Vale of Cashmere, both, this and the last species often 

 repair in the autumn to feed on walnuts and other fruits. It 

 is said by the native hunters that as the Isabella bear cannot 

 climb he waits until the other ascends, and then feeds on what* 

 ever black Bruin knocks down. It feeds mostly at night, re- 

 pairing to dense forests and jungles at daylight. The farmers 

 of the lowland valleys dread the destructive propensities of the 

 black bear more than any other of their four-footed foes ; in 

 consequence, they erect platforms in the fields, where watch- 

 men are posted at night beating drums and making loud noises 

 to frighten -the unwelcome intruders. Bruin, however, soon 

 gets accustomed to the sounds, and like the wild boar, pays 

 very little attention to such demonstrations. Like its brown 

 congener, certain individuals repair to secluded places, where 

 they spend their days much in the same manner, contenting 

 themselves with whatever wild plants are procurable in a short 

 circuit around their retreats, and invariably choosing the 

 neighbourhood of some tank or spring, where the even tenour 

 of their ways becomes apparent from the deep impressions on 

 the ground leading to and from their dens. 



The Thibet bear is decidedly herbivorous, and seldom, unless 

 when pressed by hunger, will eat flesh. Like the Isabella 

 bear, it delights to bask in the sun, but only during the colder 

 months ; the great heat of many of the valleys in midsummer 

 drives it to seek shelter in the jungles and forests. Its fur 

 is thick and long in winter, but does not contain much of the 

 under wool called " peshmena.'''' Like many other species, it 

 is partial to honey, and in eating ripe walnuts it crunches 



