BEARS. 9 



In the Hudson's Bay district, the female bears proceed to their winter 

 hibernation for the purpose of producing their young at the end of September 

 or beginning of October, and return in March, April, or May. The hibernation 

 always takes place some distance inland, and the males accompany their consorts 

 to their resting-places, after which they come back to the coast, where they hunt 

 throughout the winter. Generally two cubs are produced at a birth, but the 

 number may be sometimes diminished to one, and occasionally increased to 

 three. 



Mr. M'Tavish gives the following account of the manner in which these bears 

 capture their prey : " The bear having discovered a seal asleep on an ice-floe 

 immediately slips into the water if he himself be on another ice-floe. Diving, 

 he swims under water for a distance, then reappears and takes observations. 

 Alternately diving and swimming, he approaches close to his victim. Before his 

 final disappearance he seems to measure the intervening distance, and when he 

 next appears it is alongside of the seal. Then, either getting on the ice, or 

 pouncing upon the seal as it tries to escape, he secures it. Both seals and 

 porpoises are not unfrequently met with, bearing the marks of a bear's claws upon 

 their backs." 



THE BROWN BEAR ( Ursus arctos). 



With the brown bear we come to the typical and best known representative 

 of the entire group. It is distinguished from the Polar bear, not only by its 

 colour, but also by its larger and wider head, in which the muzzle is shorter, the 

 profile more curved, and the ears larger. The neck is also shorter and thicker, the 

 teeth are relatively larger, and the soles of the feet are entirely naked. 



Owing to variations in colour several so-called species, such as the Syrian 

 bear and the snow or isabelline bear of the Himalaya, have been established on 

 what are now known to be merely local races of the brown bear. 



Including all these varieties, the brown bear may be described as one of the 

 largest species of the genus, furnished in winter with long, thick, shaggy, and soft 

 fur, beneath which is a thick and woolly under-fur ; the ears being of moderate 

 size, and covered with long hair. The colour is generally some shade of brown, 

 although subject to great individual and local variation. In general it varies 

 from very pale to very dark brown, some of the lighter varieties being almost 

 cream-coloured in certain parts ; while, in a variety from Eastern Tibet, the fur on 

 the back and limbs is blackish, with tawny tips to the hairs. In other varieties, 

 again, the fur has a silvery tinge, owing to the hairs being tipped with white ; 

 while some specimens have a decidedly reddish tinge. In the light Himalayan 

 variety the colour deepens with age, this darkening being generally most developed 

 in old males, which are frequently indistinguishable in colour from the ordinary 

 European form. Young animals have a white collar on the throat, traces of which 

 may frequently be observed in the newly-grown fur of the adult. The summer 

 coat is much shorter and thinner than the winter dress, and is likewise darker 

 in colour. The claws are of moderate length, and their colour varies from brown 

 to nearly white. 



Mr. Blanford suggests that the generally lighter colour of the Himalayan 



