THE BLACK BEAR 
( URSUS TORQUATUS) 
LTHOUGH black bears have been thinned down a good deal 
of late years in Kashmir, they are still pretty numerous, 
and they are now the only animals which it is lawful to 
drive. The leopard, of course, is treated as vermin, and 
may be shot under any circumstances. 
The shooting of bears cannot be ranked very high as 
a sport, but their habits, especially if they are accompanied by their young, 
are very fascinating to watch. 
They are apt to be dangerous if encountered suddenly, and a well- 
known lady resident of Srinagar was attacked in the most unprovoked 
manner as she was walking down the Dachgam nullah a few miles from 
the capital. She had a wonderful escape, but her native attendant got 
badly mauled. 
Anywhere near a village these animals do considerable harm to fruit 
and crops, and occasionally take to cattle slaying. 
Like all their family, these bears take a good deal of killing, and a rather 
larger bore of rifle is to be recommended, particularly in a drive, where 
a wounded bear may attack some unfortunate beater. 
Their coats are in best condition in the spring and late autumn, but the 
black bear does not seem to sleep continuously throughout the winter, and 
may wake up at any time. The chief points that strike one in their general 
appearance are the rounded ear tops and white shirt fronts; they climb 
trees readily and the claws are black and shorter than those of the snow 
bear. 
In November a wonderful migration of black bears takes place, from 
the Vale of Kashmir westward into the district of Poonch; and the rajah of 
that place has an annual shoot lasting three or four days, at which I was 
once privileged to attend. 
A vast number of beaters are employed, and machans, or platforms, 
are placed in trees, so that there is little risk to the sportsman, though 
casualties among the beaters are not uncommon. As many as forty bears 
are sometimes killed in this manner in three days. 
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