THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 39 



vora even from the tropics breed freely in captivity, 

 the plantigrade or bear family breed very seldom. 



"Now, upon reflecting on this statement it seemed 

 to me that the comparative sterility of the bear 

 family would indeed be a very singular effect of 

 confinement, inasmuch as the bear has the most 

 extensive range of all families. I therefore reasoned 

 that if the bear in confinement is comparatively 

 sterile, this must be due to its organisation, and that 

 consequently the female seldom brought forth young 

 in captivity, because she seldom brought forth young 

 in her native haunts. I further reasoned that if this 

 was the case, Nature had provided this as the 

 check upon the bears increasing unduly, and that 

 consequently the male would be devoid of the propen- 

 sion to devour the young. I accordingly asked Mr. 

 Seth, who had charge among other animals of the bears 

 in the Zoological Gardens, if the males of all semi- 

 carnivorous animals would devour the young whelps 

 if they got the chance. ' They would certainly do so,' 

 he said. Then I said to him, ' You won't then leave 

 the male bear with the female when she is going to 

 have young ? ' 'Oh ! the bears,' he said; 'I forgot about 

 them for the moment. They very seldom breed in 

 the Gardens, which Darwin says is a very curious 

 effect of confinement on the plantigrade or bear 

 family. No, sir, the male bear never offers to touch 

 the whelps when they are born, nor afterwards ; so 

 he is allowed to remain with the female all the time.' 

 ' Have all the different kinds of bears,' I asked, ' produced 



