90 FLESH-EATERS 



8 inches from the ground. If properly and comfortably 

 caged, and provided with a swimming pool five feet deep, 

 Polar Bears in the temperate zone do not suffer from the 

 heat of summer, and can endure hot weather fully as well 

 as our black bears. Of course they require shade in summer; 

 but it is not necessary to put ice in their pool to cool the 

 water. 



The power of this active, warm-blooded animal to resist 

 cold is one of the wonders of Nature. With the temperature 

 many degrees below zero, the Polar Bear cheerfully leaps 

 into the Arctic Ocean, amid the broken ice, and swims for 

 hours. Of all bears, it is the best swimmer, and it dives 

 with great ease. 



Ten years ago we believed that the Polar Bear was in 

 no danger of being exterminated by man. That view was 

 entirely too optimistic. Carl Hagenbeck's sons inform me 

 that they are greatly alarmed over the impending fate of 

 that species, and fear that it is doomed to disappear before 

 the constant and persistent attacks of commercial hunters, 

 connected with the whaling industry, who kill these bears for 

 their skins. 



Until very recently the annual catch of live Polar Bear 

 cubs was abundant, and indicated a well-maintained source 

 of supply. Now, however, the annual catch has fallen to 

 about one-fifth the normal number of past years, and it is 

 feared that the destruction of the adult animals soon will 

 cause the practical disappearance of the species. 



