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1. 86 BEARS
| across a bear, unless they happen to be denned up in
: their winter quarters. Even in the immediate neighbour-
hood of the city of Vancouver there are always a few
| black bear about, and seldom a summer passes without
Bete one or two finding their way even among the houses on
Titi the outskirts of the city. Last spring, when returning
to town on the B.C. Electric Railway, I saw one calmly
feeding within fifty yards of the car line, and there were
lots of houses all round where he was. Luckily the bush
is so thick all round town that they have excellent places
: to hide in, or they would soon be exterminated, as the
haa old-fashioned idea that a bear is a dangerous animal,
i | that should be shot on sight, still prevails here.
‘ae From watching bears in captivity you are apt to get
Ti . the idea that they are slow-moving, clumsy, ill-tempered
\ beasts. Except for the matter of temper, they are the
very reverse, and their crossness and savage nature are
increased by captivity. The bear in its wild state is
usually a peaceable animal, that just wants to be allowed
to live its own life in its own way and not interfere with
others or be interfered with. By nature they may be a
bit cantankerous and grumpy, especially a she-bear with
cubs, upon whom the cares of motherhood weigh more
heavily than they do on other animals. Cubs have to
be brought up in a fit and proper manner, and so for
the slightest breach of discipline are cuffed without mercy,
though, when all is said and done, it is for their own

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owe 4 good, and possibly some of those of the human race might
BD be better for more cuffing than they get nowadays. But
wine notwithstanding a she-bear’s seeming harshness with her

i } cubs, there is no animal that has a more sincere affection

for its young, and that love is reciprocated by the cubs,
‘| A she-bear will take all sorts of risks to protect her cubs.
4 Some of them will even attack you if you interfere with

them. On one occasion, when in company with two
other men, I was endeavouring to catch some young
Phi bears for a Zoo. We had driven a couple of cubs up a
it tree and then, while one of my companions was climbing
ti after them, we two who were waiting below had no