THE COMMON BROWN BEAR.[139]
The Brown Bear is the commonest member of the whole family, and has been known from very early periods. It was, indeed, for a long time the only species known to Linnæus, who recognised no other kind up to the tenth edition of his great work, when he doubtfully admitted the Polar Bear.
UNDER VIEW OF BEAR’S SKULL.o.c, occipital condyle;p, paroccipital process;b.ty, bulla tympani;ma, external auditory passage;g, glenoid cavity;j, jugular arch.
UNDER VIEW OF BEAR’S SKULL.
o.c, occipital condyle;p, paroccipital process;b.ty, bulla tympani;ma, external auditory passage;g, glenoid cavity;j, jugular arch.
The Brown Bear is found in many parts of Europe—Norway, Russia, Central Europe, Spain, &c.—in Siberia, Kamtchatka, and Japan, and in a part of the Arctic regions of North America. In former times it was found in Britain, whence it was imported by the Romans, under the name of the Caledonian Bear, for the sports of the amphitheatre. “Ray quotes authority for the Brown Bear being one of the Welsh beasts of chase; and Pennant adduces the places which retained the name of Pennarth, or the Bear’s Head, as evidence that it existed in that principality. In the ‘History of the Gordons’ it is stated that one of that family, so late as the year 1057, was directed by the king to carry three Bears’ heads on his banner, as a reward for his valour in slaying a fierce Bear in Scotland.” It is, however, quite possible that this valorous Gordon may be a mythical personage, or that he may have lived at a much earlier period than that to which his exploit is assigned.
The Brown Bear is an awkward-looking brute, with sprawling gait, heavy body, and no tail to speak of. It is about six feet long, and about three or three and a half feet high at the shoulder. Its fur is longish, rather woolly, and of a dark brown hue. It lives a solitary life, and, like many ofits kin, has the curious habit ofhibernating. During the summer, when food is abundant, it lays in a very large stock of provisions, thereby becoming immensely fat. This operation being satisfactorily performed by the beginning of winter, the Bear, finding that his foraging operations become more and more arduous, seeks out a resting-place, such as a hollow tree or a cavern, or if these are not to be had, makes a sort of rude hut or nest for himself of branches and moss, and then goes into winter quarters, and calmly settles down for a post-prandial slumber, which lasts until spring. He then emerges from his hiding-place, very thin and weak—altogether a mere ghost of his former self—and immediately sets about repairing his losses by as many hearty meals as he can possibly cram into the time at his disposal, or as the means at his command will allow.
COMMON BROWN BEAR.
COMMON BROWN BEAR.
The Bear feeds chiefly on roots, berries, and other vegetables; it has also a fondness for Ants, and a perfect passion for honey, in the capture of which he is often severely stung about the nose—almost his only vulnerable part—by the infuriated inhabitants of the comb. He also preys upon small quadrupeds, and sometimes—especially when fully adult—on larger ones. He is occasionally bold enough to attack the Bull, but is, as often as not, worsted in the encounter. He rarely attacks man, unless provoked, and then, when his blood is up, is a most dangerous antagonist. His mode of attack is peculiarly his own. He does not fell his victim with a blow of his paw like one of the larger Cats, or seize it at once with his teeth like a Dog, but “gives it the hug”—embraces it tightly, and with a great show of affection, with its powerful fore limbs, and continues the squeeze until the wretched animal is suffocated. The female Bear, especially when her family is about, is a particularly ferocious creature. Her savageness is, indeed, proverbial; she is devoted to her cubs, and any one threatening their safety does so at his own peril.
The Bear is not only an affectionate mother, but is capable of a very firm friendship, as the following anecdote, related by Mr. Andersson,[140]shows. He tells us that, amongst a collection of animals he possessed “were two Brown Bears—twins—somewhat more than a year old, and playful as kittens when together. Indeed, no greater punishment could be inflicted upon these beasts than to disunite them, for however short a time. Still, there was a marked contrast in their dispositions: one of them wasgood-tempered and gentle as a lamb, while the other frequently exhibited signs of a sulky and treacherous character. Tempted by an offer for the purchase of the former of these animals, I consented, after much hesitation, to his being separated from his brother.
“It was long before I forgave myself this act. On the following day, on my proceeding, as usual, to inspect the collection, one of the keepers ran up to me, in the greatest haste, exclaiming, ‘Sir, I am glad you are come, for your Bear has gone mad!’ He then told me that during the night the beast had destroyed his den, and was found in the morning roaming wild about the garden. Luckily, the keeper managed to seize him just as he was escaping into the country, and, with the help of several others, succeeded in shutting him up again. The Bear, however, refused his food, and raved in so fearful a manner that, unless he could be quieted, it was clear he would do mischief.
“On my arrival at his den, I found the poor brute in a most furious state, tearing the wooden floor with his claws, and gnawing the barricaded front with his teeth. I had no sooner opened the door than he sprang furiously at me, and struck me repeated blows with his powerful paws. As, however, I had reared him from a cub, we had too often measured our strength together for me to fear him now; and I soon made him retreat into the corner of his prison, where he remained howling in the most heartrending manner. It was a most sickening sight to behold the poor creature, with his eyes bloodshot and protruding from the sockets, his mouth and chest white with foam, and his body crusted with dirt. I am not ashamed to confess that at one time I felt my own eyes moistened. Neither blows nor kind words were of any effect: they only served to irritate and infuriate him; and I saw clearly that the only remedy would be either to shoot him or to restore him to his brother’s companionship. I chose the latter alternative; and the purchaser of the other Bear, my kind friend, Sir Henry Hunloke, on being informed of the circumstance, consented to take this one also.”
A more curious case is related by Brehm, who tells us of a little boy who crept one night for warmth and shelter into the cage of an extremely savage Bear. The latter, instead of devouring the child, took him under its protection, kept him warm with the heat of its body, and allowed him to return every night to its cage. The poor boy soon died of small-pox, and the Bear from henceforth refused all food, and soon followed its littleprotégéto the grave.
In former times, the Bear was in great requisition in England for the noble sport of Bear-baiting. Bear gardens existed in many parts of the metropolis, in which the unlucky animals were baited to death with Dogs, for the delectation of our most religious and gracious sovereign, good Queen Bess, and “his sowship,” her successor. The office of keeper of the Bear Ward was considered quite an honourable post, and was usually held by one of “Her Majesty’s Servants,” the players—by such men, for instance, as Betterton and Alleyn the founder of Dulwich College. It has always been the custom, too, to train Bears to walk on their hind legs and dance. This they do much more easily than a Dog or a Cat, on account of their broad soles.
The Brown Bear, like most animals, differs more or less in minor characters according to the country in which it is found. The Bear of the Pyrenees and of Austria, for instance, is described as having, in the young condition, yellowish-white fur and black feet. Sir J. Richardson describes a well-marked variety as occurring in North America; this, which is quite distinct from the Grizzly and Black Bears, he calls the Barren-ground Bear.