The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1889-10-24
BLACK BEAR.

ed This animal belongs TO genus hold
ing middle place among the bear-like beasts
aud although his ancient history IS not so
complete as that of some other creatures, Dr.
Iund's discoveries In the central Brazilian
caves have brought 10 light fossil form that
Wallace regards as representative OF an exist
ing group on this continent The living mem
beers of the sub oTdinal division in which our
present bears are contained, stretch far back
ward in time, and Enthusiastically connect them
selves with 40 ancestry which, on the one
hand is structHrally affiliated with the insect
eating and pouched vertebrates OF period IN
calculably distant from our own, and on the
other with the predecessors OF the hooled ahi-
mails, and with those of monkeys, apes, and
men.
In his most general structural traits, then.
the bear belongs TO the carniyora- That is TO
say 20 an order in which, tor the most part,
the Jaw is short and strong the teeth adapted
TO cutting and tearing flesh. and the aiiment-
airy tract 10 digestng il; one in which the
bones are slender and dense, the claYieles, or
collar bones. imperfect or rudimentary, the
feet FIVE toed. the muscular system highly de-
veloped. and the front brain and sense gangila
considerably evolved. Sec0ndarily, and oil &C
count OF q more special conformation. the bear
takes his place in hat super family of Fissipedla
or split-toed creatures, in which the arctold
(bear-ke) animals. who live on the land, are al
though in some instances very Tapacious, lifted
by their skulls teeth. and organs OF digestion
60 eat anything that is edible.
Finally, and more specifically, in the above
mentioned group is included the bear proper !:
q plauiigrade. or aat-footed beast, who places
the entire sole upon the ground IN walking
and whose gait. heavy and awkward, is strik-
ingly c0ntrasted with the light spTingiug tread
OF the tOe-steppiHg cats. Speaking generally
they are unsymmetrcal in form and unrre-
rrfFarr n a n
gated mnzzle. little eyes, narrow forehead, aud
small facial angle. by which the nose, brow ana
crown Of the head lie nearly in the same plane.
Besides these personal Disadvantages, the coat
is somber in hue, and commonly rough and
unkempt. features which, together with his
clumsy figure and numbering gait, give the
bear an unc0uth look.
With reference 10 these animals as q whole,
they are, no doubt. primarily yegetariaus
Though their dental formula is the same with
that Of the dog. their teeth are very different
in form from his and together with the aItIcu
lation Of the jaw, which admits Of grinding oil
lateral motion, aud broad differentiated molars
point directly TO omniverous habits, and TO 9
process OF digestion which begins, like man s
in the mouth, and not as with the dog and
cat, IN the stomach.
There arc not many species Of true bears
and all Of these, beyond the moro genera
Tesemblances that have been pointed out, have
thick-sct and Ieayy body, rudimeniary tail
and the same number Of teeth.
GEOGRAPHICALLY, THE BEARS ARE NEARLY
COSMOPOLITAN.
They inhabit beth arctic and tropical regions
and seem equally al home in the Peruvian and
Chiian Andes, and on the mountains anC
plains OF Asia. North America. Europe, and th'
Malasan Archipelago. II would be impossible
% give even the most cgrsory description O
both the Old aud New World groups within
the limits Of a single article. and as the subject
must therefore be divided into parts. tn,
former species viii be considered first. Certain
ursiBe species are, however, common 10 bOtt
Continents. and, in consequence, IL is purely
arbitrary arrangement 20 place them cithe
under one head or the other. Remembering
then. that Ursus Arcios. or the brown bear. i
treated Of with those OF the Eastern, and thu
Polar or Ice bear with his eongeBers Of th
Western Hemisphere merely AS a matter o
convenience, Jet Us inquire what kind OF Great
urc- are their strictly Asiatic brethren.
The Meiursus Lablatns-largeli Tipped Hone.
bear, also called the Sl0th and Jungle bear O
India and CeylOn. ranges in the former countr