The White Bear, — Ursus Markimus, 109 



means full grown, as may be perceived by comparing them with the mear 

 surements heretofore cited from Lewis and Clark. They will serve, however, 

 to give a fairer idea of the proportions of this animal than any which have 

 been previously given, as they are so much more detailed and very carefully 

 made." 



AETICLE XY. — On the White or Polar Bear {Ursus maritimus.) 



URSUS MARITIMUS. 



Specific Characters. — Head long and straight upon the facial 

 outline. Skull fiat ; body and neck long, in 'proportion to 

 the height ; hair long, soft and white ; larger than any 

 other species of the genus ; length, from 8 to ^ feet ; height, 

 4: to 5 feet ; weight, over 1000 lbs. Inhabits the northern 

 regions of Europe, Asia, and America. 



The habits of this celebrated bear are such as to confine it, as its name 

 indicates, constantly to the shores of the ocean. Being a powerful swimmer, 

 and capable of enduring the most intense cold, its life is spent among the 

 dreary ice-bergs in the Polar Seas, perhaps with as much enjoyment as those 

 animals can experience whose organization adapts and limits them to the 

 mild climate of the south. Notwithstanding its residence in the most 

 inhospitable regions of the earth, in consequence of the many exiDloring 

 and whaling expeditions that have been carried into the domain of the 

 Polar Bear, his habits are as well known as those of any other species. 



The food of this animal consists of the carcasses of whales, thrown on 

 phore by the waves, dead fish, seals, land animals, birds, eggs, and berries. 

 He is said to pursue young whales in the water and capture them. When 

 he discovers a seal lying on the edge of the ice, he swims to the leeward of 

 him and approaches by short dives, so arranging his distances that at the 

 last dive he emerges from the water directly before his victim. Should the 

 seal attempt to escape by rolling off the ice into the water, he falls into the 

 jaws of his enemy, and should he lie still or attempt to move upon the ice, 

 the bear, with a powerful spring, seizes and devours him. 



It is said that the females only of this species sleep during the winter : 

 " The males leave the land in the winter time and go out on the ice 

 to the edge of the open water, in search of seals, whilst the females 

 burrow in deep snow drifts, from the end of December to the end of March, 

 remaining without food and bringing forth their young during that period ; 

 that when they leave their dens in Maifch their young, which are generally 

 two in number, are not larger than rabbits, and make a foot mark in the 

 snow no bigger than a crown piece." According to another statement, the 

 cubs, when they leave the den, are as large as a shepherd's dog, and this 

 appears the most probable. The cubs, when tired in the water, ascend the 

 back of the dam, who swims easily, carrying her young in this position. 



