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.