THE POLAR BEAR (Ursus arctos] 



The Polar Bear is one of the most rapacious of the flesh- 

 eating mammals, its food consisting largely of seals. These 

 are often captured as the result of combined cunning and patience, 

 the bear waiting for them at the holes in the ice where they rise to 

 breathe. Great powers of swimming and diving largely help in the 

 pursuit of this kind of prey, as also of fishes. The Polar Bear is 

 remarkable in being always white, or yellowish-white, in colour, 

 being thus rendered inconspicuous among its surroundings of 

 ice and snow. This is a good instance of General Aggressive 

 Coloration, whereby an animal which harmonizes with the hue 

 of its surroundings is enabled to approach its prey without exciting 

 premature suspicion. 



