He examined Monarch very carefully, noted his every point, and then
examined just as carefully the other bears at the gardens.
When he had completed his investigation and stood once more before
Monarch's cage, he was asked:
"Well, what is he?"
"He is a true grizzly bear," answered Professor Bryant, and he added,
"a mighty big one, too.
"I never before saw one of the animals with as dark a coat as his," he
continued; "but that is nothing. The bear is a true grizzly, and has
all the characteristics of one. As far as his color is concerned,
grizzlies are of all colors; there is almost as much variety in that
regard among bears as among dogs."
"How do you know it is a grizzly?" was asked.
"Well, in the first place, the claws on his forefeet are longer and
stronger than those of any other species. Then his head is larger than
that of other bears, and his muzzle is longer and heavier. Another and
more distinguishing feature is the height of his shoulders. Just back
of his neck is the tallest point. From there his back slopes down
towards his haunches. The black bear, on the other hand, has low
shoulders, and is tallest at a point rather back of the middle of the
body. There are numerous other means of distinguishing this bear. His
teeth are very much larger and stronger than those of the others, and
the entire structure of the skull is peculiar to the grizzly. He has
neither the short muzzle of the European bear such as you see in the
pit, nor the rounded muzzle of the black bear. There are, of course,
many minor points that only a naturalist would observe, but it is
sufficient to say that he lacks none of the essential qualities of the
grizzly bear, and has none of those of the other varieties.
"His coat is almost black, to be sure, but it is very different from
the glossy black of his neighbor. If you observe the grizzly's hair,
you will see that a great deal of it is a rusty brown and in certain
lights seems to be very far from black. This variation in the color of
the hair is a peculiar characteristic of the grizzly. That lanky mane
is another. His legs, you observe, are darker than his body. This is
another characteristic of the California grizzly.
"This animal is thin now, doubtless from the hard time he had while he
was being brought here. When he gets fat his hair will have a very
different appearance. It will be interesting to watch him when he
sheds his hair. The coat that comes after may be altogether of another
color. That grizzly, I should say, is comparatively a young bear, and
when he gets older the gray that originally gave him his name will
very likely be pronounced."
THE END.
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION OF BEARS.
EDITED BY PIERRE N. BERINGER.
I.
THE LOUISIANA SPECTACLED BEAR.
_Tremarctos Ornatus._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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