There is no animal so generally known, about which naturalists have
differed so much as the bear, their doubts and even contradictions,
with respect to the nature and manners of this animal, seem to have
arisen from their not distinguishing the different species, and
consequently ascribing to one the properties belonging to another. In
the first place, the land-bear (_fig. 92._) must not be confounded
with the sea-bear, or as it is commonly called the white bear (_fig.
93._), or bear of the frozen sea; these animals being very different
both in the form of their bodies and natural dispositions. The land
bears must be also distinguished into two species, the brown and
the black, because having neither the same inclinations nor natural
appetites, they cannot be considered as varieties of the same species.
Besides, there are some land bears that are white, but which, although
they resemble the sea-bear in colour, differ from it in every other
particular. These white land-bears we meet with in Great Tartary,
Muscovy, Lithuania, and other northern countries. It is not the rigour
of the climate which renders them white during the winter, like the
hares and ermines, for they are brought forth white and remain so all
their lives. We ought, therefore, to consider them as a fourth species,
if there were not also found bears with an intermixture of brown and
white, which denotes an intermediate race between the white land-bear,
and the brown or black, consequently the former is only a variety of
one of those species.
_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
[Illustration: FIG. 92. _Brown Bear._]
[Illustration: FIG. 93. _White Bear._]
We frequently meet with the brown bear in the Alps, but the black-bear
very rarely. But in the forests of the northern countries of Europe and
America, the latter is very common. The brown one is both fierce and
carnivorous, but the black-bear is only wild, and constantly refuses to
eat flesh. Of this we cannot give a more striking testimony than what
M. du Pratz relates in his history of Louisiana. "The bear," says he,
(speaking of the black one) "appears in Louisiana in winter, because
the snows which cover the northern countries prevent him from procuring
his usual food, which consists of roots, acorns, and vegetables in
general; but milk and honey form his favourite repast, and when he
meets with those articles he will sooner die than relinquish them.
In defiance of the prevailing notion that the bear is carnivorous, I
maintain, with every person of this province, and the circumjacent
countries, that he is not so. These animals have never been known to
devour men, nor even to eat butcher's meat, notwithstanding their
multitude, and the excesses of hunger which they often suffer. While
I resided at the Natches, one winter was so severe in the northern
regions, that the bears flocked from them in great numbers; so great
indeed that they starved each other, and were very meagre. In the night
they were frequently seen roaming into houses and farm-yards, which
were not properly shut, where they might have feasted upon meat, but
they never touched it, nor devoured aught but such grain as they could
pick up. If they had possessed a carnivorous disposition, it must have
shewn itself upon such a pressing occasion. They never kill animals
to devour them; and were they in reality carnivorous, they would
not abandon their own snowy regions, where they might find men and
animals at discretion, to search for fruit and roots, an aliment which
carnivorous tribes reject." M. du Pratz adds in a note, that since
writing the above passage, he had learned, with certainty, that in the
mountains of Savoy there are bears of two sorts, the one black, like
those of Louisiana, not carnivorous, and the other red, which are as
much so as wolves.
De Hontan remarks in his travels that the bears of Canada are very
black, but by no means dangerous, and that they never attack the human
species unless when fired at and wounded. In another place he adds that
the reddish ones are exceedingly mischievous, and that they uniformly
attack the huntsmen, whereas the black ones fly from them. According
to Wormius there are three kinds in Norway. The first (_Bressdiur_)
is very large, not altogether black but rather brownish, is not
destructive, but lives solely on herbs and leaves of trees; the second
(_Ildgiersduir_) is smaller, blacker, and carnivorous, frequently
attacking horses and other animals, especially in autumn; the third
(_Myrebiorn_) is still smaller and mischievous, he feeds on ants and
delights in demolishing their hillocks. It has been remarked, adds this
author (but without any proof) that these three kinds copulate together
and produce intermediate species; that those which are carnivorous
attack flocks like the wolf, killing the whole and eating only one
or two; that they also eat wild fruits, and that when the fruit of
the service tree is in season, they are the most dangerous, because
it sets their teeth on an edge which can only be allayed by blood or
grease. But the generality of what Wormius relates on this head is
highly equivocal, for we have no example of animals whose appetites are
so different as the two first, the one living on herbs, and the other
on flesh and blood, copulating together and producing intermediate
species. Besides he mentions the black bear as carnivorous, and
the brown one as frugivorous, which is inconsistent with truth,
and contradicted by facts. It is also to be observed that Father
Rzaczynski, of Poland, and M. Klein, of Dantzic, in treating of the
bears of their own countries, admit of but two species, the black and
the brown, or red; describing two kinds of the latter, the one large
and the other small. They state the black bears to be rare, and the
brown ones very common; that the black kind are the largest and feed on
ants, and that the largest of the red or brown are most carnivorous and
destructive. These testimonies, as well as those of Du Pratz and de la
Hontan are contradictory to what Wormius asserts. Indeed it seems to be
a certain fact that the red or brown bears which are found not only in
Savoy, but on the high mountains, in the vast forests, and in almost
all the desarts of the earth, devour live animals and even carcasses
when in a putrid state. Black bears are seldom found in cold countries,
but the red or brown ones we find in the cold, temperate, and even
in the southern regions. In Greece they were common, and to heighten
their shews the Romans introduced them from Lybia. They are now to be
met with in China, Japan, Arabia, Egypt, and as far as the island of
Java. Aristotle also speaks of white land bears, but considers this
difference in colour as accidental, and originating from a defect in
generation. Thus the bear is a resident in all desart, mountainous, and
woody countries; but in open, populous, and cultivated regions he is a
stranger. There are none in England or France, except possibly a few in
the most unfrequented mountains of the latter.
The bear is not only a savage but a solitary animal; he takes refuge in
the most unfrequented places, and dangerous precipices of uninhabited
mountains: he chooses his den in the most gloomy parts of the forests,
in a cavern hollowed out by time, or in the decayed trunk of some
old tree. Thither he retires alone, and passes part of the winter
without eating or ever stirring abroad. He is not, however, deprived
of sensation, like the dormouse or marmot, but being exceedingly fat
towards the end of autumn, which is the time he retires, he seems
rather to subsist on the exuberance of his former flesh, and does
not quit his retreat until he is nearly wasted. We are told that the
male quits his den towards the expiration of forty days, but that the
female remains four months, by which time she has brought forth her
young; that they not only subsist but nourish their young, without
taking any food for such a length of time I think highly improbable.
I allow that when with young they are exceedingly fat, and also, that
being covered with very thick hair, sleeping the greatest part of the
time, and taking no exercise, they must lose little by perspiration.
But, if it be true, that the males are impelled by hunger to quit
their retreats at the end of forty days, it is not natural to imagine
that the females should feel a less want of food, after bringing forth
and suckling their young ones, unless we suppose that, like cats,
they sometimes devour their offspring, of which, in my opinion, there
is no probability. Besides, at present we speak only of the brown
bear, the males of which do, in reality, devour their new-born cubs
when they find them; but the females seem to love their offspring
with a ferocious ardour. When they have brought forth their fury is
more violent and dangerous than that of the males. They will expose
themselves to any danger, they will combat any thing in defence of
their young, which are not, as the ancients have said, without form
when born, but attain their full growth nearly as soon as other
animals; before they leave the womb their formation is perfect, and if
the foetus, or young cub, seems at first glance to be unformed, it is
merely because there is a want of proportion in the body and members
of the grown bear; and that the foetus, or new-born animal, is more
disproportioned than the aged, is well known to be the case in all
species.
The bears couple in autumn; and the female is said to be more ardent
than the male. It is pretended that she lies on her back to receive
him, that she folds him with her paws, and holds him a long time, but
the fact is they copulate like other quadrupeds. Bears, while confined
with a chain, have been seen to copulate and produce, but how long the
females go with young is not accurately known. Aristotle has limited it
to thirty days, a fact which has never been contradicted, and which as
I cannot authenticate, I will neither affirm nor deny, but assign my
reasons for thinking it doubtful; which are, first because the bear is
a large animal, and the larger the animal the longer time is required
for its formation in the womb; secondly, because the young bear is very
slow of growth, follows the mother, and requires her succour for a year
or two; thirdly, because the female produces only from one to four, and
never more than five, a circumstance common to all large animals who
produce but few and carry them long; fourthly, because the bear lives
from 20 to 25 years, and the time of gestation, and that of growth,
are usually proportioned to the duration of life. From these analagous
principles I conclude that the bear carries her young several months.
Be this as it may, the mother takes the greatest care of her offspring.
She brings forth in winter, previous to which she provides a bed of
hay and moss at the bottom of her den, and suckles her young till they
are able to follow her in the spring. The male and female reside not
together, but have separate retreats, and that at a distance from each
other. When they cannot find a cavern for a den they break and collect
branches which having placed they cover with herbs and leaves, so as to
render it impenetrable to rain.
The voice of the bear is a kind of harsh deep murmur, which, when he is
enraged, is heightened by the grinding of his teeth. He is susceptible
of anger, which is always furious and often capricious. However mild,
and even obedient he may appear to his master, he ought to be treated
with distrust and circumspection; nor upon any account should he be
struck upon the nose, or on the parts of generation. He may be taught
to stand on his hind legs, and to dance in a rude and awkward measure;
but for this it is necessary he should be taken young, and held in
constant restraint. An old bear is not to be tamed, nor even held in
awe, and shews himself, if not intrepid, at least fearless of danger.
The wild bear turns not out of his path, nor offers to shun the sight
of man; and yet, it is said, that by a certain whistle he is so far
surprised and confounded as to rise upon his hind feet. This is the
time to shoot and endeavour to kill him, for when only wounded in an
attack he darts with fury on his foe, and clasping him with his fore
paws is sure to stifle or strangle him, unless immediately assisted.
Bears are chaced and taken in several manners; in Sweden, Norway,
Poland, &c. the least dangerous method, it is said, is to intoxicate
them, by pouring brandy, or other spirits, upon honey, which being
their favorite food they search for in the hollows of trees. In
Louisiana and Canada, where the black bears are common, and where they
reside in the decayed parts of old trees, they are taken by setting
fire to their retreats, which, as they climb trees with great ease,
are sometimes 30 or 40 feet high. If this attack be made upon a female
with her young, she descends first and is killed before she reaches the
ground; as the cubs follow they are easily secured, by throwing a noose
round their necks, and are carried home, either to rear, or kill for
eating. The flesh of the young is delicate and good, and that of the
old one eatable; but as the latter is mixed with an oily fat, the paws
alone, which are more firm, can be considered as a delicacy.
The hunting of the bear without being dangerous, is highly profitable,
when attended with success; of all coarse furs their skins are the
most valuable, and the quantity of oil procured from one bear is
considerable. The flesh and fat are boiled together, and then the oil
is separated; "this done", says Du Pratz, "it is purified by throwing
into it, while very hot a large quantity of salt and water; a thick
smoke arises which carries off the disagreeable smell of the fat;
when the smoke is evaporated they pour the grease, while still warm,
into a pot, where it is left to settle for eight or ten days, at the
expiration of which a clear oil is found swimming at the top; this is
taken off with ladles, is equally good with the best olive oil, and
is used for the same purposes. Under it remains a lard as white as
hog's-lard, but rather more soft, and which has neither a disagreeable
taste or smell." This account of M. du Pratz is perfectly acceded
to by M. Dumont, who adds, that the savages of Louisiana carry on a
considerable traffic with the French in this oil from the bears, that
it never loses its fluidity but in intense frosts, when it becomes
clotted, is of a dazzling whiteness, and is then eaten upon bread like
butter. The author of the Dictionnaire du Commerce says, that good
bear's-grease should be grey, viscid, and of a disagreeable flavour,
and when very white it is adulterated with suet. It is used as a
topical remedy for tumours, rheumatic, and other complaints, and many
people have a high opinion of its salutary properties.
From their great quantity of fat, bears are excellent swimmers. In
Louisiana, Dumont says, they cross that great river with perfect ease;
they are very fond of the fruit of the _guiacana_, the trees of which
they climb, and sit astride upon the branches to eat it; they are also
partial to potatoes and yams. In autumn they are so fat that they can
hardly walk, at least they cannot run as fast as a man; it is sometimes
ten inches thick on their sides and thighs. The under part of their
paws is large and swelled, and when cut there issues out a white milky
juice. This part seems composed of glands resembling small nipples, and
this is the reason why they continually suck their paws when confined
to their dens during winter.
The bear enjoys the sense of seeing, hearing, and feeling, in great
perfection, although compared with his size, his eye is small, his
ears short, and his skin coarse and covered with a quantity of hair.
His smell, is, perhaps, more exquisite than that of any other animal;
the internal surface of his nose being very extensive and excellently
calculated to receive impressions from odoriferous bodies. Their legs
and arms are fleshy, like those of man, and they strike with their
paws in the same manner as he does with his fists; they have also a
short heel bone, which makes part of the sole of the foot; in their
kind of hands the thumb is not separated, and the largest finger is on
the outside; but whatever rude resemblance they may have to the human
species, they only render them the more deformed without giving them
the smallest superiority over other animals.