Ursid/E. MAMMALIA. Ursid^e. 81 
more than a month old, a ciib will ascend to tlie 
shoulder of his keeper with great ease, and descend 
again, stern foremost, with equal adroitness.” Its food 
consists chiefly of fruits, honey, and white ants, of 
which latter it appears to be particularly fond. When^ 
the Bengal bear “ finds a nest of any kind of ants, but 
especially white ants, he is in his glory ! he tears the 
whole burrow, licking up all the clusters he can get at, 
and lying with his tongue out to entice the little prey 
into his mouth. By this means, he no doubt often 
obtains an ample meal; for I think I may with pro- 
priety assei't that frequently a bushel of white ants may 
be found in the same nest. The presence of bears in 
the vicinity of a village is generally pretty well known 
by the nature of the covers, and their having been, 
perhaps time out of mind, regular visitors ; sometimes, 
however, they change their haunts, on which their 
neighbourhood is commonly first discovered by the ant- 
hills and burrows near the sides of roads being 
found in a state of destruction.” Their food, however, 
does not appear to be confined to insects and fruit, for 
the same naturalist observes that they will attack and 
devour quadrupeds, and even man himself. He gives 
the following sad account of their behaviour : — “ It has 
often been in my way to see the operations of bears ; 
and I am confident that no animals exist more cruel, 
more fierce, nor more implacable than they are ! Such 
as have suffered under their brutality have in all 
instances within my knowledge borne the proofs of 
having nndergone the most dilatory toi'ments. Some 
have had the bones macerated, with little breaking of 
the skin ; others have had the flesh sucked away into 
long fibrous remnants, and, in one instance, the most 
horrid brutality was displayed. AVhile stationed at 
Dacca, I went with a party several times to the great 
house at Tergong, distant about five miles from the 
town. I had on several occasions seen bears among 
the wild mango topes, and did not consider them as 
being so dangerous, until one day as I was returning 
with a friend from hunting some hog-deer, we heard a 
most lamentable outcry in the cover through which we 
had to pass. Having our spears, and being provided 
with guns, we alighted, not doubting but a leopard had 
attacked some poor woodcutter. We met a woman 
whose fears had deprived her of speech, and whose 
senses were just flitting. She, however, collected her- 
self sufficiently to pronounce the word hauloo, which 
signifies a bear. She led us with caul ion to a spot 
not more than fifty yards distant, where we found her 
husband extended on the ground, his hands and feet, 
as I before observed, sacked and chewed into a perfect 
pnlp, the teguments of the limb in general drawn from 
under the skin, and the skull mostly laid bare, the 
skin of it hanging down in long stripes, obviously 
effected by their talons. What was most wonderful 
was, that the unhappy man retained his senses suffi- 
ciently to describe that he had been attacked by several 
bears, one of which had embraced him about the head 
and bit at his arms and legs, seemingly in competition 
for the booty. We conveyed the wretched object to 
the house, where, in a few hours, death relieved him 
from a state in which no human being could afford the 
smallest assistance !” The Bengal bears appear to be 
Vor.. I. II 
abundant on the eastern side of the Ganges, but of late 
years their number has been very considerablj' reduced 
by the skill of our Indian olllcers, who are notoriously 
fond of the sport of hunting. 
THE MALAYAN SUN-BEAR {Helarctos malayanus) 
is also characterized by the possession of a deep jet- 
black fur, the hairs of which are, however, compara- 
tively shorter than obtains in the foregoing species, the 
breast being marked by a white patch of a heart- 
shaped colour. In the Bornean bear, which we take to 
be a mere variety of this species, this patch is of a ful- 
vous colour, and likewise deeply notched in front. The 
Malayan bear feeds chiefly on vegetables and honey, 
and is said to evince a special predilection for the young 
shoots of cocoa-nut trees, to wdiich it proves very 
destructive. The length of the body is about four and 
a half feet. This animal appears to be easily tamed, 
if taken whilst still young. Sir Stamford Baffles’ 
account of one in his possession might almost induce 
us to desire a similar companion. He says, it “ was 
brought up in the nursery with the children, and when 
admitted to my table, as was frequently the case, gave 
a proof of his taste by refusing to eat any fruit but 
mangosteens, or to drink any wine but champagne. 
The only time I ever knew him to be out of humour 
was on an occasion when no champagne was forth- 
coming. It was naturally of an affectionate disposition, 
and it was never found necessary to chain or chastise 
him. It was usual for this bear, the cat, the dog, and 
a small blue mountain bird or lory of New Holland, to 
mess together and eat out of the same dish. His 
favourite playfellow was the dog, whose teasing and 
worrying was always borne and returned with the 
utmost good humour and playfulness. As he grew 
up he became a very powerful animal, and in 
his rambles in the garden he would lay hold of 
the largest plantains, the stems of which he could 
scarcely embrace, and tear them up by the I’oots.’ 
Of a tame specimen of the Bornean variety. Dr. Hors- 
field also gave the following interesting account ; — ■ 
“ The Helarctos readily distinguishes the keeper, and 
evinces an attachment to him. On his approach 
it employs all its efforts to obtain food, seconding 
them by emitting a coarse bnt not unpleasant whin- 
ing sound. This it continues while it consumes 
its food, alternately with a low grunting noise; but 
if teased at this time, it suddenly raises its voice 
and emits at intervals harsh and grating sounds. 
Our aninral is excessively voracious, and appears to 
be disposed to eat almost without cessation. When 
in a good humour, it often amuses the spectators 
in a difierent manner. Calmly seated in its apartment, 
it expands the jaws and protrudes its long and slender 
tongue as above described. It displays on many occa- 
sions not onl}' much gentleness of disposition, but like- 
wise a considerable degree of sagacity. It appears 
conscious of the kind treatment it receives from its 
keeper. On seeing him, it often places itself in a 
variety of attitudes to court his attention and caresses; 
extending its nose and anterior feet, or suddenly turning 
round exposing the back, and waiting for several 
minutes in this attitude with the head placed on the 
ground. It delights in being patted and rubbed, 
