BEAR. 



this manner seem previously to pass into a true 

 hybernating state ; and their subsequent death is 

 rather death from starvation than from cold ; for 

 when found they are wasted to skeletons, which leads 

 one to suppose that if supplied with a quantity of fat 

 similar to that which hybernating animals accumulate 

 in the autumn, and equally capable of taking up that 

 fat by absorption, those who are wreathed up in the 

 snow might in all probability survive for months. 



Thus we see that the necessary adjuncts of hyber- 

 nation are, protection from the extreme cold of the 

 atmospheric air, and a supply of fat which can be 

 taken up by absorption. The polar bear is in both 

 of these respects, more especially in the former, which 

 is the more immediately required means of preserva- 

 tion, exceedingly well provided. His fur is thick, 

 close, of great length, of a bad conducting colour, and 

 it appears to have a property the influence of which 

 in preventing cold in animals has been greatly or 

 wholly overlooked, but which is probably the most 

 efficient of all. The fur of this bear, like the feathers 

 upon diving birds, cannot be wetted in the living 

 state by almost any exposure to water. Of course, 

 hair having this quality cannot be cooled by evapora- 

 tion of its surface. Now we know from the great 

 danger of catching cold, if the human hair is suffered 

 to continue wet after washing, that evaporation at 

 the surface of the hair cools the body, if not to an 

 equal extent as evaporation from the skin, yet much 

 more than evaporation from the portion of skin upon 

 which long hair grows. Indeed, hair susceptible of 

 being wetted would not be a protection against cold, 

 unless the cold air were perfectly dry ; and thus it is 

 natural to suppose that all animals capable of hyber- 

 nating in the snow have their hair or other covering 

 not susceptible of being wetted. That this is the 

 case with the polar bear is well known, because after 

 swimming, which is a common habit with him, he 

 has little more to do than shake himself in order to 

 be quite dry. 



The distinguishing characters of the polar bear 

 are the great length of the body compared with its 

 height; the length of the neck, the smallness of the 

 external ears, the large size of the soles of the feet, 

 the fineness and length of the hair, the straightness 

 of the line of the forehead and nose, the narrowness of 

 the head, and the breadth or expansion of the muzzle. 

 In the plate, " Bears," (No. I.) Landseer has very 

 faithfully represented this animal with his character- 

 istic accompaniments the spicular ice, the aurora 

 borealis, the fragment of the walrus, and the crest of 

 the wave as in the very act of congealing. The 

 attitude is that of the bear when he " scents," which 

 he often does at very long- distances, and when 

 ranging, if he cannot find his way on the ice, he will 

 swim for many miles, still preserving the scent. His 

 rate of swimming is about three miles in the hour. 



The size varies considerably. Some are mentioned 

 as long as thirteen feet ; but the accounts of these 

 are in all probability exaggerated. Captain Lyon 

 mentions one eight feet seven and a half inches long, 

 and weighing 1600 pounds, as this is one of the 

 largest specimens on the account of which we can 

 confidently depend, it may not be amiss to quote the 

 particulars as given by captain Lyon from actual 

 measurement. 



"Length. From the snout to the iasertion of the 

 tail, eight feet seven inches and a half; the head only 

 one foot six inches; from the eye to the ear ten 



inches ; from the nose to the centre of the eye eight 

 inches ; of the ear alone four inches and a half; the 

 tail from root to tip five inches; fore claws five 

 inches ; hinder claws one inch and a half; canine 

 teeth two inches and a half. 



" Gb-th. Round the body, seven feet eleven inches ; 

 neck, three feet four inches and a half; fore-leg, two 

 feet three inches ; hind-leg, three feet three inches ; 

 round the snout, one foot nine inches and a half ; 

 round the forehead, two feet one inch. 



' Breadth. Paws, ten inches ; between the ears, 

 one foot three inches ; canine teeth, three inches." 



Bears of so large dimensions as those just quoted 

 are not frequently seen, the usual length being between 

 six and seven feet, and the weight, unless when in 

 very high condition, considerably under 1000 pounds, 

 those killed in the latter part of the season being 

 always heavier in proportion to their lineal dimensions 

 than those killed early. The weight of one only 

 six feet eight inches long, killed by Captain Ross 

 on his first arctic expedition, is described as being 

 upwards of 1100 pounds. When in the highest con- 

 dition, the girth of the body near the fore-paws, is 

 very nearly equal to the length ; but, at other times, 

 they are, of course, more slender. The length of 

 the soles of the paws is about one-sixth of that of the 

 whole animal ; and from the measures above quoted, 

 it will be seen that they are very broad. The ves- 

 sels of the legs are secured from the influence of the 

 cold air, by the very long and thick hair with which 

 their inner surfaces are covered. 



These bears are very powerful animals, and there 

 is no species in the whole range of nature better 

 adapted to the situation and circumstances in which 

 it is placed. It seems indeed to be a general Jaw in 

 nature that, in proportion as any species of animal is 

 limited in its distribution, its adaptation to the place 

 to which it is limited is the more perfect. We have 

 instances of this in the apes, the sloths, and various 

 other animals which are confined to particular dis- 

 tricts in tropical climates ; and we have a remark- 

 able instance of it in the polar bear. The paths of 

 this bear, when he ranges in quest of his food, are 

 in the average of cases over the ice ; and he has 

 frequently to stand upon that while, by main force, 

 he hauls the food out of the water ; and that food 

 is often living animals, which of course make all the 

 resistance in their power. But the vast size of the 

 bear's paws enables him to stand on a broader base 

 than even the elephant, while the great length of his 

 neck gives him the power of reaching to a consider- 

 able distance. His claws are neither so long nor so 

 crooked as those of the land bears ; and from their 

 form they are digging claws more than climbing, or 

 prehensile ones. These agree with his habits. He 

 is not a climber ; and he cannot well be, for there is 

 nothing to climb in the places of his habitation, save 

 rocks and ice-bergs, and animals do not climb these 

 by means of their claws. His want of clavicles ena- 

 bles him to grasp the jutting points of the ice or 

 rock between his fore-legs ; and the long hair upon 

 their inner surfaces, prevents them from being lace- 

 rated, or benumbed by the cold. The form of the 

 claws enables him to dig his food from under the snow 

 when such an operation is necessary ; and the tex- 

 ture and colour of his coat render him proof to all 

 the vicissitudes of seasons and of weather. The 

 Arctic summer with its continual sunshine, and the 

 Arctic winter with its temperature so low as that 



