THE LION 
(FEUS LEO) 
T HE lion is now only found in India in the district of Kathiawar, 
where it is strictly preserved. It appears to differ but little from 
the African species, though black-maned specimens are very 
rare, if they exist at all. There are a few instances recorded of 
these animals being killed during the last century in the Central 
Provinces ; they may now be regarded as quite extinct in this 
region. In olden days the lion must have had a much more extended range 
than now, and the big bags made by the Assyrian kings, as depicted on 
the bas-reliefs in the British Museum, are enough to make the mouth of 
the modern hunter water. 
THE SLOTH BEAR 
( MELURSUS URSINUS) 
r HE sloth bear is by no means uncommon in the jungles of 
India, and is chiefly remarkable for the length of its claws, 
which are used to dig up ant-heaps, and for its growth of long 
black hair, which seems so unnecessary for a beast living in a 
tropical climate. 
It does not hibernate, and shares this peculiarity with the 
white bear of the Arctic, which seldom, if ever, does so. The sloth bear 
generally lies up in some cave in a rocky hill by day, whence it sallies forth 
at night in quest of food. It loves anything sweet to eat; like all bears, it 
has a keen sense of smell and somewhat indifferent eyesight. Its tempera- 
ment is uncertain, and it may charge if come upon suddenly. It is greatly 
feared by the natives, many of whom carry the marks of their encounters 
with these animals. 
This bear is sometimes obtained by beating the jungle, and occasionally 
evicted from its home by fireworks or other devices; or it may be shot by 
sitting up over its cave in the early morning and awaiting the return from 
feeding. In its habits it is an extremely interesting and quaint animal to 
watch, should an opportunity occur, and it is delightful to see an old 
mother bear travelling along with her young one clinging to her back. 
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