376 THE] C ARM V OR A 



feet four inches, ten inches of which go to the tail. It has a dog- 

 like snout, a broad or rounded head, short ears, an arched back, 

 a short bushy tail, and long, dark-brown or almost black fur. Its 

 name of Glutton is due to the mythical account of its habits given 

 by an early writer, Olaus Magnus, and probably few other animals 

 have given rise to so many or such wild fables. For its size it 

 is a powerful animal, and it is noted for its excessive cunning. 



Looking at the exterior of the Kinkajou (Cercoleptes caudi- 

 volvulus), one would feel almost inclined to place it among the 

 lemurs ; for, like them, it has a prehensile tail which can be 

 coiled round branches to help its progress, precisely like that of 

 a New World monkey. But it must be remembered that the pos- 

 session of a prehensile tail is no sign whatever of any relationship 

 between the animals possessing it. The Kinkajou is a pretty, 

 innocent-looking little animal with a body about a foot long and 

 a tail some eighteen inches in length, covered with soft brown fur. 

 It feeds upon fruit, eggs, insects, birds, etc. It is found in Mexico, 

 Guatemala, and in the great forests of Peru and North Brazil. 



The Racoons form a small family of curious bear-like animals, 

 of small size, and differing a good deal in external appearance, 

 although agreeing closely in all essential particulars. The four 

 genera are found only in the New World ; their northern limit is 

 British Columbia, while southwards they reach to Paraguay in 

 Central South America. 



The great Polar Bear is a gigantic animal, often attaining a 

 length of nearly nine feet, and is proportionally strong and fierce. 

 It is distinguished from other bears by its narrow head, its flat 

 forehead in a line with the prolonged muzzle, its short ears, and 

 long neck. It is found over the whole of Greenland, but its numbers 

 have greatly decreased of late years. As the Polar Bear is able 

 to obtain food all through the Arctic winter, capturing the seals 

 as they rest on the ice by their atluk (or escape-hole), there is not 

 the same necessity, as in the ease of the- vegetable-eating bears, 

 for hibernating. In fact, the males and young females roam 

 about through the whole winter, and only the pregnant females 

 retire for the season, making for themselves a cave in the snow, 

 in which, in the spring, the young cubs are born. The under-sides 

 of the feet are partially covered with fur, which enables the Polar 

 Bear to get a better grip upon the ice than if its pads were naked 



