THE THIBET BEAR.1

THIS species, unless Cuvier and others are in error, is also to be found in Sumatra. It is particularly distinguished from the Malay and the large lipped bears, by the thickness of its neck, and the flatness of its head. It has a compact body and heavy limbs, and its claws are little more than half as long as those of the other Indian bears. The ears are very large. The muzzle is moderately thick, and somewhat lengthened; the upper part black, with a slightly reddish tint on the sides; the edges of the lips flesh colored, and the hair smooth. From the back part of the head, however, the hair becomes shaggy. A uniform jet black is its invariable color, except on the lower lip, which is white; and so also is a patch on the front of the neck, shaped like the letter Y, the oblique lines of which pass in front of the shoulders, while the lower line occupies the middle of the chest.

M. Duvaucel considers the Thibet bear to be somewhat ferocious. But the animal from which the cut was drawn, was tolerably tame, and was exceedingly fond of play in his own uncouth manner. He lived on bread and fruits, and nothing could induce him to taste flesh, either raw or cooked.

THE RACCOON.1

THE raccoon is a native of most parts of North America; but it has never yet been found on the Old Continent. Buffon asserts that it is common in South America, but we believe it has never been found farther south than Mexico.

It is an animal of about the same size as a small badger; its body is short and bulky; its fur is fine, long, thick, blackish at the surface, and gray towards the bottom; its head is like that of the fox, but its ears are round and shorter; its eyes are large, of a yellowish green, and over them there is a black and transverse stripe; its spout is sharp; its tail is thick, but tapering towards a point, and marked alternately from one end to the other with black and white, and brownish rings, and is at least as long as the body: its fore legs are much shorter than the hind ones, and both are armed with five strong, sharp claws.

It inhabits the southern parts of the fur districts, being found as far north as Red river, in latitude fifty degrees, from which quarter about one hundred skins are procured annually, by the Hudson's Bay Company. If there is no mistake as to the identity of the species, the raccoon extends farther north on the shores of the Pacific than it does on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. Dixon and Portlock obtained cloaks of raccoon skins from the natives of Cook's river, in latitude sixty degrees; and skins supposed to be of the raccoon, were also seen at Nootka Sound, by Captain Cook. Lewis

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Procyon lotor, LIN. The genus Procyon has six upper and six lower incisors; two upper and two lower canines; twelve upper and twelve lower molars. Lower incisors on the same line; the three posterior molars tuberculous ; feet pentadactyle; nails sharp; muzzle pointed; ears small; tail long; six ventral mammæ.

and Clarke expressly state that the raccoon, at the mouth of the Columbia, is the same with the animal so common in the United States. Desmarest says that the raccoon extends as far south as Paraguay. It is an animal, with a fox-like countenance, but with much of the gait of a bear, and being partially plantigrade, it was classed by Linnæus in the genus Ursus. In the wild state, it sleeps by day, comes from its retreat in the evening, and prowls in the night in search of roots, fruits, green corn, birds, and insects. It is said to eat merely the brain, or suck the blood of such birds as it kills. At low water, it frequents the sea shore to feed on crabs and oysters. It is fond of dipping its food into water before it eats, which occasioned Linnæus to give it the specific name of lotor. It climbs trees with facility. The fur of the racoon is used in the manufacture of hats, and its flesh, when it has been fed on vegetables, is reported to be good.

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He may be tamed without difficulty, and is then very good-natured and sportive, but is as mischievous as a monkey, and seldom remains at rest. Of ill treatment he is extremely sensible, and never forgives those from whom he has received it. He has also an antipathy to sharp and harsh sounds, such as the bark of a dog and the cry of a child.

We shall insert here, the greater part of a letter written by M. Blanquart de Salines, to Count de Buffon, on the correctness of which full reliance may be placed.

"My raccoon was always kept chained before he came into my possession, and in this captivity he seemed sufficiently gentle, though not caressing; all the inmates of the house paid him the same attention, but he received them differently; treatment he would submit to from one person, invariably offended him when offered by another. When his chain was occasionally broken, liberty rendered him insolent; he took possession of his apartment, suffering no one to approach him, and was with difficulty again confined. During his stay with me, his confinement was frequently suspended; without loosing of him, I allowed him to walk about with his chain on, and he expressed his gratitude by various movements. It was otherwise when he escaped by his own efforts: he would then ramble for three or four days together over the neighboring roofs, and only descend at night into the yards, enter the hen-roosts and destroy the poultry, especially the Guinea fowls, eating nothing but their heads. His chain did not render him less sanguinary, though it made him more circumspect: he then employed stratagem, allowing the poultry to familiarize themselves with him by partaking of his food; nor was it until he had induced them to feel in perfect security, that he would seize a fowl and tear it in pieces; he also killed kittens in the same manner.

"If the raccoon be not very grateful for favors received, he is singularly sensible of bad treatment; a servant one day struck him some blows with a stick, and often afterwards vainly endeavored to conciliate him, by offering eggs and shrimps, of which the animal was very fond. At the approach of

this servant, he became enraged, and with sparkling eyes would spring towards him, making violent outcries; under such circumstances, he would accept of nothing, until his enemy had with drawn. The voice of the raccoon, when enraged, is very singular, sometimes resembling the whistling of a curlew, and at others the hoarse barking of an old dog. When struck by any one, or attacked by an animal stronger than himself, he offered no resistance; like the hedge-hog, he hid his head and paws, by rolling his body in form of a ball, and would have suffered death in that position. I have observed that he never left hay nor straw in his bed, preferring to sleep on the boards; when litter was given, he threw it away immediately. He did not seem very sensible to cold, and passed two out of three winters exposed to all the rigors of the season, and did well, notwithstanding he was frequently covered with snow. I do not think he was solicitous to receive warmth; during some frosts, I gave him separately warm water and water almost frozen, to soak his food in, and he always preferred the latter. He was at liberty to sleep in the stable, but often preferred passing the night in the open yard."

THIS animal, of which we are now about to treat, many authors have called coatimundi. It is very different from the animal described in the preceding article. It is of a smaller size than the raccoon; its body and neck, its head and nose, are of a more lengthened form; its upper jaw is an inch, or an inch and a half longer than the lower one; and its snout, which is moveable in every direction, turns up at the point. The eyes of the coati are also smaller than the eyes of the raccoon, and are surrounded by three

Nasua fusca. The genus Nasua has six upper and six lower incisors; two upper and two lower canines; twelve upper and twelve lower molars. Lower incisors on the same line; three posterior molars, tuberculous; feet pentadactyle, armed with strong nails; nose much prolonged and moveable; tail long; six ventral mamma,

white spots; its hair is longer and coarser, its legs are shorter, and its feet longer; but, like the raccoon, its tail is diversified with rings, alternately black and fulvous; and to all its feet there are five claws.

This animal has a practice of eating its own tail, which, when not mutilated, is longer than its body, and which it generally rears aloft, and can move with ease in any direction.*

As for the coati in other respects, it is an animal of prey, which subsists on flesh and blood, which, like the fox, destroys small animals and poultry, hunts for the nests of little birds, and devours their eggs; and it is probable from this conformity of disposition, that some authors have considered the coati as a species of small fox. It inhabits the woods of South America. In pursuit of its prey, it climbs trees with much agility. When tamed, which it easily is, it is fond of being caressed, but does not become much attached to its owner.

Is a lazy, distrustful, solitary animal, that retires far from the approach of

*Godman says, "It has been considered very wonderful that this animal should eat its own tail, which certainly appears to be the fact. The extreme length of its tail, in which the blood circulates but feebly, exposes it to the influence of the cold or frost; and the exceedingly tormenting irritation produced thereby, leads the animal to gnaw and scratch the tail to relieve the excessive itching. The disease spreads, and the anguish induces the coatimundi to gnaw more furiously, and eventually his life is destroyed by the extension of the inflammation and irritation to the spine, &c."

Tarus vulgaris. The genus Tarus has six upper and six lower incisors; two upper and two lower canines; ten upper and twelve lower molars. The first molar very small,