[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.
2 Polar Bears _Ursus maritimus_ from Ellesmere Land. 2 Yakutat Bears _Ursus dalli_ " Alaska. 1 Peninsula Bear _Ursus gyas_ " Alaska Peninsula. 1 Admiralty Bear _Ursus eulophus_ " Adm. Is., Alaska. 3 Kadiak Bears _Ursus middendorffi_ " Kadiak Island. 1 Kobuk Brown Bear Undetermined " Kobuk River, AL 1 Grizzly Bear _Ursus horribilis_ " Colorado. 1 " " " " " Yukon Terr. 1 " " " " " Wyoming. 1 Spectacled Bear _Ursus ornatus_ " Equador. 1 Andean Black Bear _Ursus ornatus " Columbia, S. A. thomasi_ 1 Black Bear _Ursus americanus_ " Pennsylvania. 1 " " " " " Virginia. 3 " " " " " Alaska. 1 " " " " " West Ontario. 1 " " " " " Mexico. 1 Cinnamon Bear " " " Colorado. 1 " " " " " Wyoming. 1 Syrian Bear _Ursus syriacus_ " Asiatic Turkey. 3 Brown Bears _Ursus arctos_ " Central Russia. 2 Hairy-Eared Bears _Ursus piscator_ " N. W. Mongolia. 1 Himalayan Black _Ursus torquatus_ " Japan. Bear 1 Japanese Bear _Ursus japonicus_ " Japan. 1 Sloth Bear _Ursus labiatus_ " India. 2 Yezo Bears _Ursus ferox_ " Yezo, Japan. 1 Malay Sun Bear _Ursus malayanus_ " Borneo. 36 specimens, representing 18 species.
The Malay Sun Bear, (_Ursus malayanus_), is the smallest bear in the world, also the ugliest and the most ill-tempered. When fully enraged, it sometimes barks like a dog. Its hair is very short and close, and its head and feet seem to be too large for its body. This species inhabits Borneo, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and Farther India. Two specimens will be found _in the Small-Mammal House_.