Thank you.
So for the book "the taiga" 1958 by vsevolod sysoev, i already posted this on the domain of the bears:
domainofthebears.proboards.com/thread/1710/ussuri-brown-bear-1950-2000From page 40 to page 46
The ussuri bear :
Sysoev V.P. (1958) [The taiga.] pp. 40-46
"Nowhere else in the Soviet Union is bear - hunting as rewarding as it is in the Far East . Three subspecies occur there the polar , brown , and black bears . Their number is very great . In Kamchatka and along the Okhotsk shore they wander about in twos and threes in search of berries .
The brown bear has several geographic subspecies , such as the Kamchatka , Kolyma , and Sakhalin bears . One of the world's biggest species is the Ussuri bear . I had occasion to see a specimen 51 inches high on all fours, and 99 inches long. The circumference of its neck was 39 inches and the length of its claws aver- aged 4 inches. It weighed 1,320 pounds and the colour of its long-haired, shaggy, somewhat lustreless fur was black . When there is a flush of acorns and nuts the Ussuri bears take an extraordinary amount of them , and fatten . I have shot bears that had nearly 220 pounds of fat on them , but when plant fodder is scarce bears hunt wild pigs .
How does an Ussuri bear approach a hog ? The hog eludes its pursuer easily at first , then tires . When hard pressed it goes on the defensive . It backs up against a tree and waits for a chance to catch the bear napping and to rip open its belly . Gnashing its tusks , it makes a precipitous attack , but the bear delivers a crushing blow with its paw . The force behind the blow is so great that the hog falls on its back . The bear rips its throat , and settles down to a meal . It digs a hole in the snow for whatever meat is left , covers it with wind- fall , then returns to it whenever hungry .
Often bears hunt in couples . Their team-work is superb . No boar has been known to escape two pursuers . Bears also attack red deer and elks - usually wounded or sick ones . In spring they destroy many fawns .
Most Ussuri bears do not hibernate . They prefer to roam the woods all through the winter . In the coldest months of January and February they sometimes make a large hole for themselves in thick spruce or fir groves , or simply sit it out leaning against a dry tree . A bear of this kind is locally called shatun , which is the Russian for " restless roamer . " Endurance and skill count for much more than a good rifle in hunting a hibernating bear . In days of old , for instance , bear - hunters used no more than just spear - like forked poles . But a shatun bear is different . One wants a good rifle against him . Even a cub is not to be killed with a shot , for its bones are unusually strong .
The local bear attacks domestic animals and wreaks havoc in village bee gardens . During the spawning season it catches salmon in the rivers .
The large Ussuri variety does not flinch even before a tiger . It is stronger and more enduring than the latter .
The shatun is known to have attacked man as well , particularly when wounded and when the hunter fails to stand his ground and turns tail in face of it . Then the beast instantly takes up the chase , whereas it may totally disregard , or even fail to notice , a coolly waiting man .
Ferentsov , a Khingan hunter , one day wounded a bear and the infuriated beast gave chase to his dog . The frightened young hound ran in circles round its master with the bear close on its heels . If the hunter had moved , the bear would instantly have crushed him, but Ferentsov stood still as a statue . Then , when opportunity presented , he reloaded and brought it down .
Sometimes a hunter unconsciously approaches a resting or feeding bear . In that case the beast attacks without hesitation.
In summer and early autumn , when well fed , the bear is in a more peaceable mood . In winter and early spring , when it is tormented by hunger , the emaciated shatun is most aggressive, and more dangerous to man than a tiger . Sometimes it attacks a hunter to drive him away from its spoils.
Hunter Leskovsky , for example , was on his way back to the forest one day, leading his horse by the bridle , to bring out a hog he had killed and cached in the thickets . When he came to the cache he saw an Ussuri bear feasting on his kill . The bear caught sight of him as well . It attacked . Leskovsky turned tail . Crashing and and stumbling through the undergrowth he ran for his life , closely pursued by the fierce beast. The bear was gaining on him rapidly . Leskovsky could hear it panting down his neck . But no blow followed . Finally, exhausted , the hunter stopped to catch his breath and glimpsed the bear some distance away , watching his retreat . Seeing the hunter stop , the animal resumed its chase . It made Leskovsky run some distance more , then returned to complete its meal.
Stories about the shatun bear are numerous . Mount Sinai in the Soviet Far East dominates the sur- roundings like a giant cupola . Clouds often envelop its hoary top . The sombre gullies are overgrown with horse- tail , which rises like a green brush out of the blanket of snow .
A shatun lived in these hogs ' pastures . Hunger drove the bear in search of food . A faint breeze carried the keen scent of hog's meat to its nostrils . The shatun froze in its tracks and sniffed the air greedily , trying to determine where the tempting smell came from . It stood rooted to the spot for a long time , so long , in fact , that the snow began to melt under its big paws . Finally it decided to go up the brook , from where it heard a faint rustling . It advanced cautiously , avoiding the rotten windthrow underfoot . When it finally glimpsed the black shape of a wild hog between the trees , it froze to the spot . The hog was not alone . The shatun heard the squeals of sucklings . The bear decided against approaching the herd head on . It knew by instinct that the hogs could only be approached from the windward , for which purpose it had to round the herd from the left . Bending low and putting its paws down warily , it proceeded with its manoeuvre . Now the breeze was in its face , blowing from the direction of the unsuspecting hogs . The bear crept silently. closer to its prey under cover of thick cedars and fir trees . The hogs dug about a few yards away , but were all facing in the opposite direction . The shatun waited patiently for one of them to turn . A hog is easier tackled that way . A few minutes passed before one of the hogs turned and walked closer to the shatun . In two giant leaps the bear was on top of it , sank its fierce claws into the pig's flank and crushed its spine with its terrible fangs. But with its dying breath the hog gave a shrill call . The herd bolted . The bear fell greedily upon the hog . Its stomach could hold close on a 70 lbs . of meat . After it had had its fill , it licked its blood - stained fur and retired under a fir for a nap .
But the crows cut short its slumbers with their cries . They had come to feed on what remained after its repast . Crows often took a good share of its spoils , but the shatun did not object . Thanks to these keen - eyed noisy birds it often found red deer and hogs wounded by hunters . The crows withdrew when night fell , but the bear was again disturbed by a prolonged and and desolate howl . The bear knew it came from a wolf pack .
Wolves had robbed it of its food supplies before , and now obvi- ously had designs on what was left of the hog . The bear got to its feet, approached its precious kill and dug it in . It scraped turf together with its paws , as with a monstrous pitchfork , and heaped it upon the hog . When it ran short of " material , " it went farther afield , folded its paws , and backed towards its prey , dragging along the snow . It stopped en route to listen to the wolves , whose howling was coming nearer . Then it resumed its labours . After burying the the hog under a mound of turf and snow , the bear trampled it down , then broke fir twigs with its teeth and covered the mound with them . Now it could sleep with an easy heart . Early next morning the beast went off on its business to a near - by spring . The big repast of the day before had given it the wanderlust . No sooner had it gone than the wolves appeared . They attacked the mound , trying to dig it up with their strong paws , but the trampled snow had hardened overnight and all their efforts were in vain . They managed to unearth no more than two bones , which they swallowed after crushing them with their powerful teeth .
They lapped up the the blood - soaked snow , and gnawed at a piece of hogskin .
Weasel - hunter Ignat Trofimov's team captured a full- grown leopard, That is all they had time to do before the bear's return made them bolt .
Hog meat was after the bear's taste , and when its sup- plies ran out it went off in search of more . It soon came upon a tiger track and followed it on the apparent sur- mise that the tiger , an inveterate pig - hunter , would lead it to places abounding in wild swine . The tracks led across a wild unfrozen mountain stream . The tiger had crossed it by the trunk of an ash - tree laid from bank to bank . But the log which had reliably served the tiger swayed precariously under the considerably heavier bear . The bear lost its balance and fell with a re- sounding splash into the water . It did not relish the sud- den ice - cold bath . Snorting , it tried clambering back on to the log . But the current carried it away and it struck out for the other bank . Once out of the water , it shook off the spray and picked up the tiger trail again . In a dense cedar grove it scented hogs and blood . Its hairs bristled . It advanced cautiously and soon glimpsed the tiger in a clearing devouring its kill . The tiger also scented its rival. Fury flickered in its green feline eyes . It had no intention at all of giving up its prize , and , what was more , obviously meant to teach the uninvited guest a lesson . It was upon the bear in three big leaps , sinking its fearsome fangs into the back of the bear's neck . Even if it had been a giant elk , it would never have had the strength to shake off the tiger . It would have carried about its striped rider until the latter would have snapped its spine . But in the bear, the tiger met its match. The bear was of an extraordinary large size . The surprise attack caught it off balance . It tumbled to the ground , roaring fiercely from the pain . But it pulled the tiger off its back with its enormous clawing paw and sank its teeth into the writhing cat . The tiger choked in the bear's vice - like embrace . It tore at the bear's neck and paws , trying to loosen its grip . The animals rolled on the ground, crushing the adjacent bushes with their weight and staining the snow with their blood . The tiger appeared to be inflicting more damage . Its mouth was full of black bear's hair . The bear , on the other hand , was groping slowly but surely for the tiger's neck . The tiger , agile and strong as it was , was less enduring . It was used to killing instantaneously . It was not adapted for a drawn - out struggle , and soon the tables turned . It was getting the worst of the fight .
The bear's powerful jaws closed on its throat . The cat roared hoarsely and beat about in death pains . That was the end of a unique combat between two monarchs of the taiga ."
After this, the author started writing about the Himalayan bear.
You can use snippets of the text and look them up on Google books if you want to.
Let me work on the second book and see what i can do.
page 43: 
