OEDEE OF CAENIYOEA. 
429 
The Brown Bear leads a solitary life in the dark pine forests, 
amidst the deepest gorges, or on the highest mountain ridges. It 
makes its den in caverns, on clefts of the rocks, often, also, in the 
hollow of some giant old tree. Sometimes, too, it builds for 
itself a bower of branches and moss. It generally sleeps during 
the day, and seeks its food at night ; but this is by no means 
Fig. 174. — Brown Bear ( Ursus arctos). 
a settled habit in the animal. It feeds on the nuts of the beech, 
and the various descriptions of wild fruits and berries, especially 
those that are slightly acid ; also various seeds, vegetables, and 
roots. It is very fond of honey, strawberries, and grapes, and 
will travel many miles to procure these delicacies. An agreeable 
repast is also furnished it by swarms of ants, which it likes on 
account of their acid taste. 
In the lofty regions which it generally inhabits, when all these 
kinds of food fail, it makes its way down to some of the lower 
plateaux, and ravages the fields of wheat, oats, and maize. When 
