Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 6.djvu/303

Rh went into the wood. The brown bear is spread over Asia, from the Himalayas northward, but in different localities it undergoes slight modifications of color, and has therefore received different names; hence the Siberian bear (Ursus collaris), and the Syrian bear (U. Isabellinus). The former is said to have a white collar around the neck,



which is probably the distinctive mark of the younger bear. In the latter, the brown color changes into a yellowish hue, from which the term Isabel bear is derived. The brown bear of the Himalayas is of the same species. It seems likely also that it inhabits the extreme north-western part of North America. Sir John Richardson relates having found in the barren lands lying to the northward and eastward of the Great Slave Lake, extending to the Arctic Sea bear which agrees with this in many respects. Still, nothing definite is known to establish the identity of the two.

One of the most curious members of the bear family is the Asiatic or sloth bear (Ursus labiatus). It is distinguished from other bears by the length of its hair, the length and flexibility of its lips, and the peculiar manner in which the fore-feet cross each other in walking. Its fur is deep-black, slightly flecked with brown, but it has a forked patch of white upon the breast. The hair from the head and neck hangs down over the face, and gives the animal a weird appearance. It seems to be subject to the early loss of its incisor teeth, from the absence of which, in the first specimens carried to England, it was supposed to be a species of gigantic sloth. It is almost wholly a vegetable feeder, and, it is said, will resort to animal food only in cases of extreme hunger. It is quite harmless unless retreat is cut off, when, like its relatives, it becomes savage and dangerous. The mother will fight bravely in defense of her young, which she usually carries upon her back until they have acquired strength enough to make good travelers. It is an inhabitant of the Himalayas, where it remains in caves