Crtns'ttrji of 



pt great rapidity of motion ; and its strength 

 is so prodigious, that the bison contends 

 with it in vain. Mr. Drummond, in his 

 excursions over the Rocky Mountains, had 

 frequent opportunities of observing the 

 manners of the Grisly Bears, and it often 

 happened that in turning the point of a 

 rock or sharp angle of a valley, he came 

 suddenly upon one or more of them. On such 

 occasions they reared on their hind legs, and 

 made a loud noise like a person breathing 

 quick, but much harsher. lie kept his 

 ground, without attempting to molest them ; 

 and they on their part, after attentively 

 regarding him for some time, generally 

 wheeled round and galloped off ; though, 

 from their known disposition, there is little 

 doubt that he would have been torn in pieces, 

 had he lost his presence of mind and at- 

 tempted to fly. 



The POLAR BEAR. (Tlialcussarctos ma- 

 ritimus.) The accounts given by the early 

 navigators of the size, strength, and ferocity 

 of the Polar Bear are perfectly appalling ; 

 but the accuracy of modern investigation has 

 dissipated many of the erroneous ideas which 

 were formerly entertained on the subject, 

 though it is still very clear that this Bear is 

 possessed of immense strength and fierceness. 

 The whole animal is white, except the tip 

 of the nose and the claws, which are jet 



POLAR BEAR. 

 (THAiASSAROTOS MARITIMUS.) 



black ; the ears are small and rounded, the 

 eyes small, the teeth very large, and the 

 limbs extremely large and strong. The 

 shores of Hudson's Bay, Greenland, and 

 Spitzbergen, are its principal places of resi- 

 dence ; but it has sometimes been accident- 

 ally carried on floating ice as far south as 

 Newfoundland. Their usual food consists 

 of seals, fish, and carcasses of whales ; but 

 when on land they prey on various animals, 

 as hares, young birds, &c. : they also eat 

 such roots and berries as they can find. 

 They are said to be frequently seen in 

 Greenland in great droves, allured by the 

 scent of the flesh of seals, and will sometimes 

 surround the habitations of the natives, and 

 attempt to break in. Captain Lyon gives 

 the following account of its hunting the 

 seal : " The bear on seeing his Intended prey, 

 gets quietly into the water, and swims until 

 to leeward of him, from whence, by frequent 

 short dives he silently makes his approaches, 

 and so arranges his distance, that, at the 

 last dive, he comes to the spot where the 

 seal is lying. If the poor animal attempts 

 to escape by rolling into the water, he falls 



| into the bear's clutches ; if, on the contrary, 

 he lies still, his destroyer makes a powerful 



' spring, kills him on the ice, and devours 



i him at leisure." 



I During the summer they reside chiefly on 

 the ice-islands, and pass frequently from 



I one to another, being extremely expert 

 swimmers. They lodge in dens, formed in 

 the vast masses of ice, which are piled in a 

 stupendous manner, leaving great caverns 

 beneath : here they breed, and bring forth 

 one or two at a time ; and the affection 

 between the parent and the cubs is so great, 

 that they will sooner die than desert each 

 other. During winter they retire, and bed 

 themselves deep beneath the snow, or else 

 beneath the fixed ice of some eminence, 

 where they pass in a state of torpidity the 

 long and dismal arctic night, appearing only 

 with the return of the sun. 



JUGGLER BEAR, or JUXGLE BEAR. 

 (J'rocfiilns vrsinus.) When this uncouth 

 animal was first brought to England (now 

 more than half a century since), it was taken 

 for a Sloth, and obtained the names of 

 ttradypus pcntadactylus, and Bradypus ur- 



BEAR. (PROCHILUS URSrNUS.) 



sinus, "Five-fingered Sloth," " Ursine Sloth," 

 and " anonymous animal." It is the Ours 

 jongleur of the French, who so called it on 

 account of its being afavoxirite with the In- 

 dian mountebanks or jugglers, who rely on 

 the attraction of its ugliness. The Juggler 

 Bear inhabits the mountainous parts of In- 

 dia, its place of retreat being in some cavern. 

 Its short limbs, the depressed air of the head, 

 surmounted by the hillock of a back, and the 

 whole contour of the apparently unwieldy 

 mass, give the idea of deformity. In bulk 

 it is about the size of the Brown Bear. The 

 nasal cartilage is capable of considerable 

 extension, and the lips of protrusion. The 

 muzzle and tips of the paws are a whitish- 

 yellow ; and there is a half-collar or Y-like 

 marking on the under side of the neck and 

 breast. With these exceptions, the fur is 

 deep black, with here and there some brown 

 spots, and is rather long, particularly round 

 the head, as the animal grows old. In a 

 state of nature its food consists of fruits, 

 honey, and those destructive insects the 

 white ants. In captivity it appears to be 

 mild, but melancholy. 



MALAY BEAR. (Prochilus Mnlayamis.-) 

 This animal is jet black, with the muzzle 

 of a yellowish tint, and a crescent-shaped 

 white mark on the breast. Vegetables form 



