THE POLAR BEAR. 329 



below the surface, swims in the intended direction, until it is forced to return to the surface in 

 order to breathe. As soon as it has tilled its lungs with fresh air, it again submerges itself, 

 and resumes its course, timing its submarine journeys so well, that when it ascends to the 

 surface for the last time it is in close proximity to the slumbering seal. The fate of the 

 unfortunate victim is now settled, for it cannot take refuge in the water without falling into 

 the clutches of its pursuer, and if it endeavors to escape by land it is speedily overtaken and 

 destroyed by the swift-footed Bear. 



The endurance of the Bear while engaged in swimming is very great, for it has been seen 

 swimming steadily across a strait of some forty miles in width. Even the large and powerful 

 walrus is said to fall a victim to the superior prowess of the Polar Bear. Although its 

 appetite is of so decidedly carnivorous a nature in the northern regions, it assumes a milder 

 character in southern climes, and contents itself with vegetable aliment. In England, it has 

 been fed for a considerable time on bread alone, of which it consumes about six pounds per 

 diem, and its fondness for cakes and buns is well known to every frequenter of the Zoological 

 Gardens. Even in its wild state, it is in the habit of varying its food by sundry roots and 

 berries, and is often found engaged in searching for these dainties at some distance from the 

 sea-shore. 



So powerful an animal as the Polar Bear must necessarily be very dangerous when con- 

 sidered in the light of a foe, and as it is rather tetchy and very uncertain in its temper, it 

 often affords ample scope by which its pursuers may test their prowess. Sometimes it runs 

 away as soon as it sees or smells a human being, but at others it is extremely malicious, 

 and will attack a man without any apparent reason. As is the case with nearly all the Bears, 

 it is very tenacious of life, and even when pierced with many wounds will fight in the most 

 desperate manner, employing both teeth and claws in the combat, and only yielding the 

 struggle with its life. 



The color of the Nennook's fur is a silvery white, tinged with a slight yellow hue, rather 

 variable in different individuals. Even in the specimens that were confined in the Zoological 

 Gardens there was a perceptible difference in the tint of their fur, the coat of one of them 

 being of a purer white than that of the other. The yellowish tinge which has been just 

 mentioned is very similar to the creamy-yellow hue which edges the ermine's fur. The feet are 

 armed with strong claws of no very great length, and but slightly curved. Their color is black, 

 so that they form a very bold contrast with the white fur that falls over the feet. Even at a 

 considerable distance, and by means of its mere outline, the Polar Bear may be distinguished 

 from every other member of the Bear tribe by its peculiar shape. The neck is, although 

 extremely powerful, very long in proportion to the remainder of the body, and the head is so 

 small and sharp that there is a very snake-like aspect about that portion of the animal's 

 persons. 



The shape of the head is rather remarkable, for whereas in the Brown and other Bears the 

 muzzle is separated from the forehead by a well-marked depression, in the Polar Bear the line 

 from the forehead to the nose is almost continuous. The foot of the Nennook is of surprising 

 comparative length, for it is equivalent in length to one-sixth of the entire length of the body, 

 whereas in the Brown Bear it is but one-tenth of that measurement. The sole of the foot is 

 covered with a thick coating of warm fur, which is in all probability intended for the double 

 purpose of protecting the extremities from the intense cold of the substance which it is formed 

 to traverse, and of enabling the creature to tread firmly on the hard and slippery ice. 



From these and other peculiarities of form it is now acknowledged as a separate species 



of Bear, and even removed into a different genus by many naturalists, although the earlier 



* writers on this subject supposed that it was merely a permanent variety of the Brown Bear, 



j which had obtained a white coat by constant exposure to the terrible cold of these wintry 



regions, and whose form had been slightly modified by the ever-repeated habits of its 



strange life. 



Although so powerful an animal, and furnished by nature with such dreadful arms of 

 offence, it is considered by the experienced Bear-hunters of Norway to be inferior in combat 

 to the common Brown Bear, and is less dreaded by them as an antagonist. 



