BEARS. 3 



completely devoid of hair ; and the ordinary gait is peculiarly slow and measured. 

 All the bears are of considerable bodily size, while some of them are among the 

 largest of the Carnivores. 



The living species of bears, with which alone we are at present dealing, are 

 likewise readily distinguished from other Carnivores by the characters of their 

 teeth. They agree with the true dogs in having two pairs of molars in the upper 

 jaw, and three pairs in the lower jaw, but the shape of these teeth is different; the 

 crowns being nearly flat, very broad, and mainly adapted for grinding, while those of 

 the upper jaw are either oblong or square, and, therefore, quite unlike the triangular 

 upper molars of the dogs. Then, again, the flesh-tooth in both jaws is very unlike 

 that of ordinary Carnivores ; the upper one being small, and having no inner root, 

 and its crown looking much like that of a molar. Similarly, the lower flesh-tooth 

 (which we may once more remind our readers is the first of the molar series, while 

 the upper one is a premolar) is very like the two molars by which it is followed. 

 A third distinctive feature is that the first three premolar teeth in both jaws are 

 exceedingly minute, and are very generally shed when their owner attains maturity. 



The peculiar characteristics of the cheek-teeth clearly indicate that the food 

 of the bears is very different from that of other Carnivores ; and, as a matter of 

 fact, the majority of these animals subsist on a vegetable diet, or on insects, to a 

 much greater extent than on flesh. From their evident descent (as we shall fully 

 indicate later on) from dog-like animals, it is clear that the peculiar features of the 

 dentition of the bears have been acquired ; and we may hence regard these animals, 

 so far as their teeth are concerned, as highly specialised. The loss of the tail is 

 likewise a specialised feature. On the other hand, in their retention of the old- 

 fashioned plantigrade mode of walking, bears are much more generalised animals 

 than dogs, and in this respect retain a feature which was present in the ancestral 

 types from which the two groups have sprung. 



The whole of the members of the family have a marked resemblance to one 

 another, so that the characters by which the different species are distinguished are 

 apparently somewhat trivial. Their fur is coarse, and generally long, thick, and 

 shaggy, although it may be short and thinner in some of the tropical species. Except 

 for the not unfrequent presence of a white collar round the throat, the fur is 

 nearly always of one colour, and generally some shade of either brown or black. It 

 is true, indeed, that the Polar bear is a marked exception to this rule, but in this 

 case the colour of the fur has evidently been specially modified to suit the natural 

 surroundings. The great prevalence of black among the bears is a feature unknown 

 in any other group of Carnivores, and is, indeed, rare among Mammals in general. 



Bears have a wide geographical distribution, occurring throughout Europe, 

 Asia, and North America, while one species inhabits the South American Andes, 

 and another the African Atlas. South, however, of the Atlas not a single member 

 of the family is to be found throughout the length and breadth of Africa. Geologi- 

 cally speaking, true bears, that is to say those which can be referred to the 

 genera now living, are of comparatively recent origin, none being yet known 

 before the Pliocene, w^hile it is not till the succeeding period that they became 

 abundant. This late appearance of the bears is in harmony with what we have 

 already stated as to their specialisation. 



