Popular Official Guide to the New York Zoological Park (September 1915): Thirteenth EditionHornaday, William T. (William Temple)
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Popular Official Guide to the New York Zoological Park (September 1915): Thirteenth Edition
Hornaday, William T. (William Temple)
New York Zoological Park
This pair has bred four times and reared some very fine cubs.
The Syrian Bear, (_Ursus syriacus_), is well represented by a fine
specimen from Trebizond, Asia Minor. This bear is of a pale yellow
color, with very high shoulders, narrow head and smooth pelage. The
Syrian bear represents “the bears of the Bible,” which appeared in
punishment of the children who were disrespectful to the prophet Elisha.
Bears of this species are often trained to dance, and perform various
tricks at command, and usually lead very miserable lives at the hands of
gypsies and other bear specialists of nomadic habits.
[Illustration: SPECTACLED BEAR.]
The Hairy-Eared Bear, (_Ursus piscator_), a species very rarely seen in
captivity, is represented by two fine specimens from the Altai
Mountains, Central Asia. This animal is sometimes called, on account of
its peculiar light brown color, the Isabella Bear. Its more correct name
has been bestowed on account of its large and very hairy ears. It
inhabits northeastern Asia, as far southwestward as the Altai Mountains.
The fine pair exhibited were presented to the Society by Mr. Carl
Hagenbeck.
The Himalayan Black Bear, (_Ursus torquatus_), is the handsomest of the
four living species of black bears, and can easily be identified
anywhere by three distinct characters, neither of which is possessed by
any other black bear. They are, a _pure white chin_, _long side-whiskers
on the jaws and sides of the neck_ and _very large ears_. Up to this
date the geographic range of this very interesting animal has been
recorded as extending from eastern Persia through Beluchistan,
Afghanistan, Assam, and South China to Formosa; but the three specimens
exhibited were taken in northern Japan, where the existence of this
species seems to be established beyond question.
[Illustration: EUROPEAN BROWN BEAR.
Two cubs are nursing.]
The Japanese Black Bear, (_Ursus japonicus_), from northern Japan, is
one of the smallest of living bears, being only slightly larger than the
Malay sun bear. In general appearance it suggests a small edition of the
American black bear. The first specimen exhibited at the Zoological Park
was very good-natured, but all these received since are nervous and
irritable, and also very timid.
The Sloth Bear, (_Ursus labiatus_), often called the Long-Lipped Bear,
can be recognized as far as it can be seen by its shaggy mop of
enormously long, black hair, its white muzzle, and its very long, white
claws. It is a creature of many peculiarities. It inhabits India
generally in forest regions. This is Kipling’s “Baloo.”
LIST OF BEARS IN THE ZOOLOGICAL PARK.
April 1, 1913.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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