The Portland daily press., 1865-03-07
sLoTH BEARS.

Three sloth bears form an interesting group.
They have been placed in one of the large
dens on the left as you enter the main hall,
and having bean furnished with ladde
to clinne are very jolly bears indeed They
have peculiar habit of rolling themselves in
to ball, SO that it is sometimes very difficult
for stranger to decide whether there are one,
two, or three bears in the cage. On Tuesday
morning, Mr.. Barnum, the assistant manager
of the exhibitions after taking a look at the
group, and finding, as he thought, only two
there, supposing that une must have died dlI-
ring the night, gave orders to have the skin
carefully taken off and sent to the Academy
of Natural science in Philadelphia, the recep-
tacle of all the defunct animals of the institu
tion. Alter some unsatisfactory inquiries, he
was quite surprised, on taking a second view
Of the den, to find three bears frisking about
In the most robust health. rss,.,r, -
This species (Ursus tubidtus) was first
brought to Europe about seventy years ago,
and was exhibited in the English menageries
as the 1ve-fngered asloth. 1t is, however,
nothing more or less than bear, although it
wouldb difficult to Convince an Englishman
of the fact. The true sloth is much like
monkey in form, is very quick in its move
ments, popular prejudice to the contrary, not
withstanddg; has a. singular habit of pro
gressing from tree to tree turned upside down,
and in its astrological structure approaches
more nearly the extinct Megatherium than any
living animal. Naturalists have made many
" curious blunders in regard to this animal. In
- this connection we may also state that the IA
nous "pig-faced lady" of English fairs was
sloth arrayed in a liberal allowance Of petit
coats. d.
A pair of beautiful spotted Axis deer from
the banks OF the Ganges, couple of diminu-
tive Burmese cattle, and q Himalaya noun
tain goat form an Interesting addition to the
Illuminating animals. yM Al 9tfls
The deer attract attention by the symmetry
of their form and the peculiar manner in which
their coats are decorated. These animals
have been bred with success in some Of the
/ parks OF Great Britain, and it Is possible they
may become naturalized here. A herd OF
them would be desirable ornament to our
s Central Park. q llia Is doyalg m14g 20
d~al aEf A LEOPARD CHASE.
Two Asiatic leopards, of remarkable fsroci-
ty, are among the new arrivals at the menag-
erie. On Sunday one of these, the female,
broke loose from the box in which she had
been brought from Calcutta, and a scene OF
great confusion ensued. Not having had any
experience in her native jungles Of the resist
ing qualities OF glass, she made arlsh at the
large window in the rear of the building,
3 doubtless expecting to reach the street with
out difficulty. Brought to sudden stand by
"a the strength of the unappreciated obstacle,
she covered upoL the floor in intense bewil-
derment, to the manifest disgust of the pc
nies, whose premises she had invaded. sr
The keepers fed, but Mr. Frost, who does
not lose his presence of mind, was soon at
hand, and before the frightened creature had
time to fa1rly collect her scattered senses, he
had, with the aid of a few rough boards and
set of carpenters tools, built new cage
around her, from which she was soon trans.
et,n u
ters. When in the latter she and her mate
few into paroxysm Of rage, dashihg against
the bars with the greatest fury. To prevent
accident an extra set f}bars9 was inserted in
the den, and having come to realizing sense
of the fntliity of her efforts at escape, the an
imal behaved very reasonably, although she
growls frightfully at any one who happens to
attract her particular attention.
"A RARE ANIMAL ~
Just as the Golconda was sailing, Captain
burlington happened to hear of couple of
natives who had dancing bear on exhibition.
Thinking it good opportunity ia make pri-
vate speculation on his own account, he went
ashore, and the expenditure Of a few rupees
resulted in two hall-naked pagans considering
themselves extremely rich, and in the worthy
captain finding himself the owner of the ur-
sine dancer The natives brought the bear
on board the ship, and as be was considered
tame he was not as securely fastened as he
might have been. No soonerhad the Hindoo
gentlemen left, however, than the bear broke
loose and took possession Of the quarter deck.
After half an hours undisputed command of
the ship his ursine highnes was lassoed from
aloft by an enterprising tar, and order once
more reigned on the Golconda. This animal
proved to be one OF the rarest geological speci-
mems ever brought into this country. or ex-
hibited anywhere 1t is the Ursus Ssabettisus
native Of the Himalaya mountains, and is Sc
liehtrcolored as to have led TO the supposition
that il was another species of the white bear
There was one of this species at the Zoologi
cal Gardens, Regents Park, London, ten year.
~ ago, the only one ever on exhibition; bu
that is probably dead. This is the only ont
ever brought to America, and it is believet
the only one now in captivity. oag