MAMMALS. 



671 



It lives largely on fishes, seals, and the like, and to catch these it must 

 take to the water. It is a strong swimmer, and when after seals it swims 

 quietly with only the nose above the surface until it is within reach of its 

 prey. On the land it pursues the foxes, ptarmigans, and other terrestrial 

 forms. Its large size — slightly less than that of the grizzly — makes it 

 even a formidable opponent to man. 





Fig. 517. — Grizzly bear (Ursus horribilis). 



One or two of the foreign species need to be mentioned. First comes 

 the subject of the adjacent plate, which rejoices in a multiplicity of names, 

 — sloth-bear, large-lipped bear, jungle-bear, honey-bear, aswail, and bear- 

 sloth, — from which the reader can take his choice. It has a most curious 

 physiognomy. At an early age its incisor teeth drop out, and this, together 

 with its enormous lips, its mobile nose, and its strange eyes, make it at once 



