202 
LONDON BEARS 
attitude of defence, which drove the malicious tribe to 
a safe distance. “ Pauvre bete , il a peur ,” said his 
owner ; and it was evident not only that the bear was 
afraid of the brutal children of the street, but that it 
looked to the “ grown-ups ” for protection. 
Probably the most easily tamed of the tribe are the 
small Malayan bears, five of which are at present in 
the collection of the Zoological Society. These are 
true honey-eating bears, provided wnth long elastic 
tongues, and covered with short close fur of the most 
beautiful dark and glossy brown, of the tint to which 
seal-skins are dyed. The largest is a perfect beauty 
in the eyes of bear connoisseurs, sleek and glossy, its 
coat fitting it like a well-made suit of felt, and when 
walking upright, as it prefers to do when about to be 
fed, it is “just like a person,” as we once heard a small 
girl remark. It has a cream-coloured face, and a 
beautiful orange “ bib.” The oldest of the family has 
been twenty years in the Gardens, and is so stiff and 
decrepid, that when on the ground it moves like 
a rheumatic old man. But it can still climb, and wall 
exhibit most amusing feats upon the bars in return 
for a lump of sugar. Sugar is the greatest luxury 
which can be given to these “ sweet-toothed ” animals 
except honey, and their rations of this are carefully 
regulated, as it does not agree with their constitutions 
when in confinement. When a lump of sugar is 
shown to the old bear it climbs the bars with great 
deliberation, and then holding on by all four feet waits 
for the visitor to go through his part of the perform- 
