REMINISCENCES FROM THE MELBOURNE ZOO. 
107 
BEARS 
MOTHER BEAR AND BABY BEARS. 
There are a large number of bears of all kinds at the Zoo; but for 
many months public interest was centred around the fine family of 
three cubs born to the handsome Thibetan brown bear, so distinguished 
with his fine yellow collar, and the Russian brown she-bear. These 
three young ones had the sense to take after their father in outward 
appearance, and the Thibetan collar made them much more attractive 
than their unadorned mother. Father Bear never should have any part 
in his children’s education, and therefore the Zoo authorities kept him 
securely caged off from his family until the little ones were able to 
set up a separate establishment for themselves. This was the more 
necessary because he has a little habit of punishing any breach of bear 
discipline in his family by killing the offender, and then making a meal 
of him. In wild life. Mother Bear, who knows all about this unpleasant 
peculiarity of her husband’s, takes steps to circumvent him by going 
away by herself just before her babies are to be born, and burrowing 
down beneath the snow, preferably by the root of a tree. There, 
secure from the icy winds anl cosily warm under the sheltering snow, 
she brings her cubs into the world and tenderly cares for them until 
they are at least three months old. All this time she does not have a 
bite of food, but she has stored up sufficient nourishment for the babies, 
and as soon as she knows they are strong enough to defend themselves 
from any sudden onslaught of their father’s, she brings them out to 
look for him. She is by then a perfect skeleton, and ravenously hungry. 
Her mate has been idling about in her vicinity for some time, awaiting 
her re-appearance, and as soon as the loving re-union is over, and he has 
inspected his family and grunted his pleasure at their looks and 
behavior, they set off to fossick for food. Woe betide any living 
creature that crosses their path just then! Although Father Bear is 
not a bit bearish in his treatment of his children. Mother Bear has a 
very trying time in guarding them, because she knows they will be a 
happy family only as long as the babies are models of obedience and 
agree among themselves. Once they fall out with each other and thus 
annoy him, or cross his path in a vexatious way — well, that is the end 
