THE POLAR BEAR 143 



however, is this beast's most dangerous active enemy, and finds the flesh 

 excellent as food, though the liver, curiously enough, appears to be a 

 dangerous article for human consumption, and is hence given by the 

 Eskimos to their Dogs. The skin, of course, has considerable value as 

 a fur. Although so large and active a beast, the Polar Bear does not 

 seem to be very dangerous ; it is observed to be particularly given to 

 biting, rather than to using its fore-paws in attack like Bears in general. 



A good many specimens are captured for menageries, for the Polar 

 Bear has been valued as a curiosity ever since the days of the Vikings. 



It bears the climate of Europe well if supplied with a good bath, not 

 seeming more distressed by the heat than other Bears, at any rate in 

 England, and it is far more amusing and lively than any other species 

 except the Malayan Bear. Captivity introduces it to many delicacies 

 which it could not taste when at large, and it shows itself very handy 

 in dealing with them ; it peels an orange with its claws with great skill, 

 and will make a current in its tank with its paw to bring a floating object 

 to the margin. One clever female in the Bristol Zoo learnt to break 

 cocoa-nuts by flinging them against the bars of the den ; but the acme of 

 Bear astuteness was reached by old " Sam," who died in the London 

 Zoological Gardens after the very cold summer of 1903, thus giving 

 rise to many jokes about our inclement climate. "Though born and 

 bred upon an Arctic hummock, Autumn's excesses went against his 

 stomach," said one rhymer of him. Sam, however, had often had his 

 laugh at the public. It was his custom to put a piece of his rations on a 

 low wall which skirted one side of the den, and then sit down with his 

 back against the said wall. In this position he was invisible to visitors 

 coming down a raised path outside it ; these would, however, see the bit 

 of food, and often charitably endeavour to push it through the bars to 

 him with their sticks or umbrellas. But the ungrateful Sam, whirling 

 round like a flash, would snatch these articles through, and they were 

 of no particular value when he had done with them. This trick of his 

 was well known at the time, and attracted much attention ; I had the 

 account from his own keeper. 



The Polar Bear has produced hybrids in captivity with the Brown 

 Bear ; in a small Zoological Garden in Germany several such specimens 

 were bred, the Polar Bear being the father. Most remarkably, it proved 

 to be the case that these hybrids were quite fertile, both when paired back 



