XIIL SLOTH BEAR 443 
and the Thibetan Blue Bear (U. pruinosus) are distinet species, 
not to be confounded with U. arctos. Neither, of course, are the 
Peruvian U. ornatus and the Sun Bear, (. malayanus. 
The Polar Bear has even been placed in a separate genus, 
Thalassarctos, a proceeding which is quite unnecessary. The 
white colour of this Bear tends to become browner with age. It 
is one of the few mammals which extend right round the pole; 
the Polar Bear is of course a purely Arctic animal. The chief food 
of the Polar Bear is Seal. Out of thirty Bears examined, Mr. 
Fic. 225.—Malayan Bear. Ursus malayanus. x qs. 
Koettlitz found that only fifteen had animal remains in their 
stomachs, and these remains were invariably Seal. The animal 
apparently hunts by scent rather than by sight or hearing, both of 
which senses seem to be somewhat dull. The males and females 
wander separately, except of course during the breeding season. 
The Bears dig holes in which they may remain for some time, 
but there is no hibernation. In Pleistocene times, the Polar 
Bear extended as far south as Hamburg. The female has four 
mammae, pectoral in position. 
Melursus includes only JM. labiatus, the Sloth Bear of India. 
This animal has an upturned snout, which is described as closely 
resembling that of Mydaus, the Teledu. The snout has no groove. 
