22 ANIMALS OP NORTH AMERICA. 



THE POLAR BEAR ( Ursus maritimus') is the next species, 

 met with far up among the icebergs of the Arctic Seas ; it is 

 peculiar to those regions, being found only along the sea 

 coasts of the North, where it is so common that no voyager 

 returns without being able to give more or less vivid or fright- 

 ful accounts of its power or ferocity. The color of its fur 

 is a silvery white, tinged with a slight yellow hue, similar to 

 the creamy -yellow which edges the ermine's fur. Its head 

 is so small and sharp-pointed, that there is a very snakelike 

 aspect about that portion of the animal's person. And this 

 shape of the head is the more remarkable, for whereas in 

 other bears the muzzle is separated from the forehead by a 

 well-marked depression, in the polar bear, the line from the 

 forehead to the nose is almost continuous. The sole of its 

 foot is covered with a thick fur, intended, doubtless, for the 

 double purpose of protecting the extremities from the intense 

 cold, and of enabling the creature to tread firmly on the hard 

 and slippery ice. 



To most other animals, cold is distressing ; to him it is wel- 

 come and delightful. In captivity, he seems to suffer much 

 from heat, and his restlessness, from this cause, can only be 

 quieted by keeping him supplied with a water-tank, or by throw- 

 ing repeated pails of water over him. He is a capital swimmer, 

 catching seals in the water, and diving in search of fish, 

 when not otherwise satisfied. He is often found miles from 



