- PLANTIGRADE CAENIVORA. 533 



whole sole of the foot upon the ground in walking, which gives them 

 a heavy, shuffling gait, but admits of the body being reared up, 

 and sustained in an erect attitude ; in this posture the fore-paws are 

 frequently used in defence, either to strike or to hug an assailant to 

 death. The feet are furnished with five toes, armed with strong 

 curved and blunt nails. They are generally large animals, with 

 thick-set bodies, clumsy limbs, and a very short tail; they dig 

 for themselves dens, or construct shelters, in which they pass the 

 winter, in a state of profound sleep, without taking food, and it is in 

 these retreats that the female rears her cubs, usually two in number. 

 The White Bear ( Ursus maritimus) is an annual of very peculiar 

 habits. It lives in the frozen regions of the northern hemisphere, 

 where it feeds on fishes, seals, and young whales ; nevertheless, 

 even this animal is not essentially carnivorous, and can be brought 

 to live on bread alone. He swims and dives with astonishing 

 facility. White Bears are sometimes met with in numerous 



FlG. 4 39. POLAR BEAK. 



societies, in which they differ from other Bears, which are always 

 solitary : like the rest of the genus, however, they require a retreat 

 for the winter; they content themselves with some cleft in the 

 rocks, or even in a mass of ice, and there, without preparing any 

 jed, allow themselves to be covered by enormous heaps of snow : in 

 this way they pass the months of January and February, in a state 

 )f profound lethargy. 



The Racoons (Procyon*) might almost be taken for bears in 

 miniature, except that they are furnished with long tails, are better 



/ciW, procyon, one icho snarls like a dog. 



