410 THE POLAR BEAR. 
has already been mentioned, the Bears are good swimmers, and are able to cross channels 
of considerable width, but we have, in the person of the Nennook, an animal that is 
especially formed for traversing the waters and for passing its existence among the 
ice-mountains of the northern regions. 
Probably in consequence of the extreme cold which prevails in the high latitudes 
where this creature is found, its food is almost entirely of an animal nature, and consists 
of seals and fish of various kinds. In order to capture the fish in their own element, or 
to make prey of the active and wary seals, it is necessary that the Nennook should be 
endowed with no ordinary powers of body and sense. Its capabilities of scent are extra- 
ordinarily fine, for it will perceive, by the exercise of that sense alone, the little breathing- 
holes which the seals have made through the ice, even though the icy plain and the 
breathing-holes are covered with a uniform coating of snow. Even the Esquimaux dog, 
which is specially trained for this very purpose, is sometimes baffled by the extreme 
difficulty of discovering so small an aperture under such difficult circumstances. 
So active is this Bear, and so admirable are its powers of aquatic locomotion, that it 
has been seen to plunge into the water in chase of a salmon, and to return to the surface 
with the captured fish in its mouth. And when it is e1 ngaged i in the pursuit of seals, as 
they are lying sleeping on a rock or an ice-raft, it is said to employ a very ingenious 
mode of approach. Marking the position in which its intended prey lies, it quietly slips 
into the water, and diving 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 filled 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 proxunity to 
the slumbering seal. The fate of the unfortunate victim is now settled, for it cannot take 
refuge in the water without falline into the clutches of its pursuer, and if it endeavours 
to escape by land it is speedily overtaken and destroyed by the swifter-footed Bear. 
The endurance of the Bear while engaged in swimining is very great, for it has been 
seen swimiing 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 vary- 
ing 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 
considered 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 strugele with its life. 
The colour 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 colour 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 i is so small and sharp that there i is 
a very snake-like aspect about that portion of the animal’s person. 
