THE EUROPEAN BEARS AND THE WILD BOAR 
ful in the islands of Lofoden and Vesteraalen than anywhere else in 
Norway. They did great damage not only to cattle, but also by the 
abstraction of quantities of dried fish and fish oil ; and in some places 
they were to be seen in ‘ great herds.’ ” 
Bears are still fairly numerous in East Finland, but are steadily dimin- 
ishing in Russia within reasonable distances of Moscow and St Petersburg, 
but they are still fairly plentiful in outlying Governments, such as Olonetz. 
These Russian bears are by far the finest in Europe, two which are now 
in the Russian Embassy being 7 ft. and 7 ft. 6 in. in length, and one almost 
as large as American grizzlies. In 1899 I saw a very fine bear, killed by 
the Postmaster of Tunsdalen, which measured 7 ft., and this may be re- 
garded as an exceptional animal; whilst one figured by Lloyd in the “ Scan- 
dinavian Adventures,” and killed by him in Sweden, must have exceeded 
these dimensions. 
Bears are probably more numerous to-day in the East Carpathians 
(Galicia) than anywhere else in Europe. I saw traces of them wherever I 
went in the mountains, though I only saw one large male in a wild state, 
and the adult female shot by Prince Fiirstenberg. These Carpathian bears 
are small, seldom reaching over five feet in length. 
The colour of the brown bear varies from a light silvery grey to black. 
Most specimens are, however, of a rich brown, and others possess a light 
chest and shoulder mark. Another common type is straw coloured over the 
head and upper parts, passing into brown below and almost black -brown 
on the legs and feet. 
The brown bear goes into winter quarters about the last week in October 
or early in November. Here he falls into a lethargic state, in which he 
remains until the middle of April, but the date when he comes out again 
is always doubtful and varies according to the mildness or severity of the 
season. 
In early spring the bear is lean and scraggy, although his coat is in good 
condition. He eats ant-grubs, grass roots, or any putrid carcass he can find. 
Later he picks up all sorts of small forest and mountain creatures, from 
lemmings to young birds, though the principal diet is sow-thistle, angelica 
and cow-parsnip. In autumn he finds all kinds of beetles, grubs, ant eggs, 
slugs and frogs in the woods and meadows, barley oats and rye in the 
clearings of the forest, not to mention an occasional horse, sheep or pig 
from the hillsides or outbuildings of the peasants. But the brown bear 
is not always destructive to living animals, for there are many instances 
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