BEADS’ FATAL FIGHT.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 144430, 18 July 1914, Page 8

BEADS’ FATAL FIGHT.

QUARREL OVER A BISCUIT. Certain visitors to the Scottish Zoological Bark at Corstorphine some little time ago got a vivid picture of wild life at its wildest, and witnessed a duel between two of the brown bears, which, despite the efforts of the attendants, ended in one of the combatants receiving such injuries that it died an hour or two after a separation was effected. The row arose through the smallest of tho brown bears grabbing a biscuit which Baby, one of the two largo bears, seemed to think was meant for him. Por some little time the spectators did not realise the deadly fury of the bigger animal, and no attempt was made to summon tho attendants—who at the time, unfortunately, happened to bo engaged in other parts of the grounds. It soon became apparent, however, that the fight was serious.

After the fight was well under way one of the attendants who had been summoned, dashed over the parapet, and, quite unarmed, tiled to separate the brutes. He closed with tho big bear, but although he got hold of a hind leg, he could not pull it off its victim. At this point it was well for the man that the whole rage of the big bear was being expended on the smaller one, otherwise the consequences for him might have suddenly turned serious. To complicate matters, Daisy, the companion to Baby, began to got savage, and hovered round the fight, ap-' parently quite prepared to assist her mate by polishing off either the small bear or the keeper. The latter got hold of a heavy spar of wood, which was thrown to him by a spectator, and managed at one time to boat the infuriated, and rather misnamed Baby off his quarry, but tho hnite would not be denied, and dashing round the keeper, it again got in grips with the smaller bear on the earth embankment overhanging the water. The attendant had by this time got a heavy whip, with which he laid on to Baby till it broke. Then the pair rolled over the bank into the water, where the fight was continued as hard as ever for a while. Probably the amount of water which was absorbed .somewhat cooled the sanguinary Baby, and he was beaten off, while tho sadlymauled victim was got into one of the .cages, where its wounds were dressed and restoratives applied. It was only when it was cut up and skinned that the fnU extent of the injuries were seen and which showed the terrible power of bear claws.