/4 THE POLAR BEAR. 



whether the polar bear hibernates, or not. Dr. Richardson 

 observes, " Our navigators confirm the statements of Fabri- 

 cius and Hearne, that the polar bear does not hibernate, having 

 occasionally seen them in the winter, and actually pursued 

 one in December. It is mentioned in the narrative, that 

 the Esquimaux killed eight or ten in the winter of 1822 ; and 

 Mr. Edwards learnt from the hunters that they often saw 

 and killed the males when roaming at large during that season, 

 and as often dug the dams with their cubs from under the 

 snow. These facts seem conclusive as to the uniform hiber- 

 nation of the gravid females, and the, at least, occasional 

 appearance of the males abroad in the winter. It is pos- 

 sible, however, that the latter may also become torpid in the 

 winter, when the local circumstances of their native districts 

 are such as to preclude them from reaching open water at that 

 season; and thus the opposite opinions of naturalists maybe 

 in some degree reconciled/' — Appendix to Parry's Second 

 Voyage, p. 229. 



It is at the decline of winter that the polar bears, and espe- 

 cially the females, are the fiercest and most formidable. At 

 this period the stores of fat accumulated in autumn have be- 

 come exhausted, and the maternal cares combining with hun- 

 ger render the dam remarkably bold. They are rarely, how- 

 ever, the aggressors ; but become furious when attacked. 



The Siberian hunters, however, assured Pallas that the 

 polar bear was more easily killed than the land bear, rarely 

 surviving two body wounds. " The weak and ill-armed natives 

 of those parts, "he observes/ ' do not fear to enter into single 

 combat with this powerful and generally dreaded beast, and 

 for the most part come off conquerors. Armed only with a 

 rude spear, they provoke their antagonist; and whilst he rushes 

 madly forward to the attack, they slip with agility to one side 

 and pierce him in the flank ; for the bear sees nothing but 

 what is straight before him, and passes blindly beyond his 

 aggressor; which has been unaptly attributed to the celerity 

 of his onset. But if he is beset with dogs, he heeds not the 

 hunter, and consequently gives him ample opportunity to 

 wound him from behind or on one side. And thus the Ja- 

 cuti attack him with great safety, first setting on him a num- 

 ber of dogs ; and they dread the polar bear much less than 

 the brown bear. Thus in this unequal conflict the Siberian 

 hunters, who are terrified by the first discharge of fire-arms 

 as much as the American Indians, far exceed the Europeans 

 in boldness and agility; for though the latter fearlessly 

 stand in the ranks and brave the blind fortune of war, yet 

 which of these heroes would venture singly to attack the 



