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‘CHAPTER Tz. 
THE WHITE BEAR. 
THE dreary wastes of the Arctic Regions are not destitute of 
inhabitants. There is even a joyous and happy population amid 
mountains of snow and interminable fields of ice, amid the coldest 
waters and the thickest fogs. The white, or polar bear, the 
Thalarctos maritimus, is the king of these wilds, and reigns like a 
cruel despot over the animals of the Arctic Regions; dwelling in 
all the northern seas, he is found on every ice-bound shore. 
There were in ancient times so vast a number in Cherry Island, 
that it was called “ Beeren Eiland,” or Isle of Bears. The white 
bear is really a terrestrial quadruped, it differing chiefly from its 
namesake, the bear of the Alps, by its superior size. It is more 
upright, and has longer limbs, stronger feet, a longer neck, and 
a narrower and straighter head. Its size is sometimes enormous. 
Some have been known as much as seven feet long. In 1596, 
the traveller William Barentz killed two and preserved their 
skins. One was four feet long, and the other about five feet. 
We are assured that large ones sometimes weigh ten hundred- 
weicht. 
The polar bear is covered with a coat of close, soft, long hair, 
generally perfectly white, but occasionally of a light yellow colour. 
The Norwegian fishermen call him the “great man with a cloak.” 
One can understand that with this excellent coat he may resist the 
extremely cold temperature of his country. His eyes are dark, his 
nose, the inside of his mouth, and his nails are black. 
The white bear feeds upon seals, fish, and many other marine 
animals. He is said to attack young whales. He also eats 
vegetable substances, particularly in summer. He can endure 
very long periods of abstinence. To catch seals he squats down 
on his fore-paws, advances gradually his hind legs without stirring 
his body, and when within a few feet, he springs upon his victim. 
