32 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 
only a few months old when captured, but though the pair in the 
London Zoological Garden have bred for years and produced a 
considerable number of litters, the young have always died within 
a few days of birth. The polar bear lives naturally in a very 
sterile atmosphere, and the new-born young are presumably very 
susceptible to the disease-producing organisms abundant in our air. 
Polar bears have, however, been bred and reared in captivity in 
or near large towns: one was born in the Zoological Park at 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in December 1919, and was still alive in 
September 1920; and there is also reason to believe that a polar 
bear was born (about 1857) and lived, at any rate for some months, 
in the Old Edinburgh Zoological Garden. The Zoological Park has 
had some notable successes in breeding, and it will be interesting to 
see whether it will succeed in adding young polar bears to its breed- 
ing achievements. ‘The Park has possessed two fine males since its 
inception, but was not able, until this autumn, to obtain a female. 
The newcomer is, however, no more than a year old, and some 
considerable time must pass before the experiment can be tried. 
PTARMIGAN FROM SPITSBERGEN. — An extremely interesting 
exhibit in the Zoological Park at present is a small group of 
Spitsbergen Ptarmigan, brought to Edinburgh in September last by 
Mr R. I. Mapleton, a member of the Scottish Spitsbergen Syndicate’s 
Expedition. The number was originally five, but unhappily two 
died comparatively soon after their arrival, and the opinion was 
freely expressed that the other three would shortly follow and that 
Ptarmigan would not thrive so near sea-level. That lack of altitude 
was no insuperable difficulty the writer was convinced, both from 
the fact that the Ptarmigan of Spitsbergen must live at low levels, 
and also because the Iceland Ptarmigan has lived, and, it -is 
believed, bred, in a garden aviary in England. ‘The chief difficulty 
in keeping Ptarmigan is probably that of diet, and if satisfactory 
substitutes can be found for the food taken by them before capture 
there seems to be no reason why they should not live for years. 
For upwards of two years Red Grouse have lived in the Park, 
where they have been supplied at intervals with fresh cut heather. 
Heather has also been obtained for the Ptarmigan, but they show 
little or no preference for it and eat grass equally readily, although 
they perhaps prefer to anything a well-hearted cabbage. Grain they 
will take also, but their staple food, in: addition to the heather, 
grass and cabbage, is coarse oatmeal. The three survivors have 
now passed four months in the Park and seem to be in good 
condition and thriving well, so that the hope arises that they may 
now live for a considerable time and perhaps breed.—T. H. G. 
