Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1915-07-16
AN AMIABLE BRUTE
The Black Bear Is the Happy
HooIigan of the Woods.
He is NOT A BIT FERocIoUS.

This Much Maliened Animal 10 Just a
kazy, Playful Loafer That Avoids
Men and Fights or Works Only When
He Is Compelled to Do So.
The black bear is neither ferocious
nor dangerous. The most fitting name
l have ever heard given him Is the
Happy Hooligan Of the Woods. He Is
a lazy, playful loafer and has no evil
Intentions; but, like a shut-in boy or
a boy with task to perform, he wants
company-does not know just what to
do with himself.
The black bear has more human-like
traits than any other animal l know
He is a boy in disguise-will not work
long at anything unless at something
to produce mischief Occasionally he
finds things due and simply does not
know what to do with himself. He is
happy go lucky, and taking thought of
the morrow is not one of his troubles.
He is afraid of the grizzly and avoids
man as though he were a pestilence.
He plans no harm. In other words,
the black bear is just the opposite in
character of what he had long been
thought and is still almost universally
believed to be. A million writer's and
spoken stories have it that he is fero-
cious-a wanton, cruel killer. He fights
or works only when compelled to dc so.
He is the most plausible buffer
have ever seen. With hair bristling on
the back, upper lip stuck forward and
an Onrush, with a rapid volley of
champing k-woof-f-fs, he appears ter
rible. He pulls himself out of many
a predicament and obtains many an
unearned morsel in this way. Most
of his bluffs are for amusement. He
will go far out of his way for the pur-
pose of running
A black bear climbs tree almost as
readily as a cat, and he climbs a small
pole or a large tree with equal ease.
The grizzly does not climb trees, but
the black bear, with it's catlike fore
paws, can simply race up tree trunk.
Much of his time, both asleep and
awake, is spend in treetops. He might
almost be called a perching animal.
Like most animals the black bear has
local habitation. His territory Is
twenty or less miles in circumference,
and in this he is born, lives and dies.
In springtime he descends to feed Oh
the earliest wild gardens of the foot,
hills.
The black bear eats everything that
is edible. Though omnivorous, his food
is mainly that of vegetarian. He
digs out rich willow and aspen roots
in the shallow and soft places and
tears up or digs out numerous plants
for their roots or tubers. Often he eats
grass and devours hundreds of juicy
weeds. During autumn have seen him
on the edges Of snow fields and gla.
| ciers consuming thousands Of unfor.
tunate grasshoppers, flies and other In.
sects there accumulated. He is par.
ticularly fond of ants-tears ant hills
and decaying logs to pieces and ticks
up the ants as they come stormine
forth to bite him. He tears hundreds
Of rotten logs and stumps to pieces fol
grubs, ants and their eggs.
He freely eats honey, the bees anG
their nests. He catches mice and Of
ten amuses himself and makes a mos
amusing and manlike spectacle by
chasing and catching grasshoppers
He will devour carrion. In fish coun
try he searches for fish and occasion
ally catches live ones, but he is tot
restless or shiftless to be good fish
erman.
The black bear is or was found pref
ty well distributed over North Ameri
ca. His color and activities vary some
what with the locality, this variation
being due perhaps to difference o
climate and in the food supply.
The black bear has well deveope,
brain and may be classed among y
alert animals of the wild. Its sen,'
are amazingly developed. They seel
to be ever on duty.
Young black bears have good ten
pers and are playful in captivity, bu
If leased or annoyed they become trou
blesome and even dangerous with age
If thine enemy offend thee presen
him with a black bear cub that ha
been mistreated. He is an intense
high strung animal and, if subjecte
to annoyances, teasing or occasions
cruelty, becomes revengeful and vii
dictive. Sometimes he will even loo
for trouble and, once in a fight, ha
the tenacity of a bulldog.
: The black bear has never been pre-
tected as game animal. Through 4
the seasons of the year, with gun an
dogs, the hunter 10 allowed to pursu
him. 1t would be well for a few yeaI
to have a closed season on bears. A
he is verging on extinction and as
gives to the wilds much of their spiri
there ought to be closed season
, protect this rollicking fellow of til
, forest.
If / were asked to select the one en-
blematic animal that best gives an
suggests the spirit and the spell of tt
great outdoors l should select IL
'. black bear.-Enos A. Mills in Saturda
Evening Post.
s.