A HIMALAYAN BEAR.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 680, 24 June 1914, Page 3

A HIMALAYAN BEAR.

In one of the pits t»f the New. Tori Zop there are half a dozen bears o! different species ; a' Syrian;. a Hima lay an, two or three black bears, and one or two brown ones. There used to be two Hitnalayans in this group, and they were the best of friends. A year or ; so ago one of them died, and the'incidents which, fo'lowed con stitute one - of the most. thvillin * chapters, in the history of Iho .Zoo. Naturally, the keepers wanted to .remove .the body of the deal bear V but the surviving friend of the. de ceased refused <to give it up.' With his' paws he pushed toward it tlr leaves that had fallen into th? enclo sure, and he brought , straw from thcdens in the rocks. All this stuff he heaped over the carcase until he had covered it Bis completely as posxibls. Then he planted himself over it, an J fought , off any of ths other b:a?£ that dared come..near. ; It was out of the question for c.n/hody to enter the pit and get thr body, so the keepers tried to re a; L; it from the outside by msans cf r pole, thinking they could push . r.n pull it over to the side, llira U ropes to it ands.|i£t it over, ilio if or fence. .- The bear fought ev.ery in li c: ths way, seizing the role in li ; jaws," and being overcome Cnallj only by the force of superior numbers. ■ ■" Since the loss of his only frLril 1* has refused to unbend to. any other member of the . group ; ho simply stays most of tie tam# in a coyrr of the enclosure and shows li s teeth at the other bears if they conic nav him. There has been only enj time when he has relaxed his atti-ud:: cf general hostility,- and that vas a fe; weeks ago, when the. SyrirA lea" increased the family in that pit l>. adding three cubs to 'its number." It was a litter cold day, and tha Himalayan bear 1 surprised everylpdy by coming out of his comer anl lyinv down beside, .the new-born babirs end their mother so that his great furry body would protect? them not only from the cold, but from- the ctkir bears as well. r The keepers built V little hoiiso in the corner, filled it with stra;.v, and put mother and' cubs in thsreWhereupon, his occupation gene, the Himalayan retired to his own' cor; ner again and resumed his.sttUtide of general . an'imos^ty.—;New : -.; Yc rW'"Sun." : Sy ; ■■■