EXCITING BEAR HUNT.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLV, Issue 58, 9 March 1911, Page 6

EXCITING BEAR HUNT.

MASCOTTE ESCAPES FROM

CAMP

Tired of captivity, "Teddy," a Himalayan bear, brought home from India by the King's Royal Rifles, made its escape from Shorncliffe Camp, and for about 40 hours caused considerable excitement in Folkstone and district. The bear is the regimental pet of the Rifles, having come into; the possession of the band when a cub whilst they were in the East. It.had' since been kept in the part of the camp known as Tin Town, in the direction of* Cheriton, near Hythe. The bear is 15 months old, and is the mascotte of-the regiment.. To make his escape he pushed down the heavy fence and iron railings which imprisoned him. The story is that some of the men had given "Teddy" beer, and this had apparently made him obstroperous. Gaining his liberty, the bear apparently made for the open country beyond the canrn. A large number of men of the Kings Royal Rifles scoured the country in search of the fugitive, and reported the matter to the county and Folkstone police forces in order to get their assistance. The knowledge that the bear had escaped naturally caused considerable commotion in the countryside, and precautions were taken to protect the public. In its voyage of discovery the bear evidently covered a wide tract of country, and it was seen at Newington, near Hythe, at night, by a farm laborer, who was much frightened at meeting such an unusual visitor in the East Kent lanes. The animal was also reported to have been seen in the vicinity of Beachborough, near Lyminge. The hunt was carried out in a very systematic manner by the men of the King's Royal1 Rifles, but it was not until the search parties were returning to camp disappointed with the fruitless result of two days' beating the countryside, it being of no use to continue operations owing to the bad li?^ that news was received that the animal's whereabouts had been discovered. A boy, aged six, who was in the vicinity of the ruins of the Royal Engineers' quarters, which were burnt down some time ago, on an outlying -portion of Shorncliffe camp, saw the bear amongst the ruins. He reported the find to some soldiers, and a party of the Riflemen, with big sticks and other weapons, went out to recapture the regimental pet. The bear, however, resented the loss of his liberty, and refused even to be cajoled with a bottle of ginger-beer, which i-s his favorite luxury. Some of the soldiers then got to close ouarters with "Teddy," but he gave them a rough-and-tumble, several being thrown over before, he could be got on his chain, when he quieted down, and allowed himself to be taken back to his cage.