OUDEU V. THE CAKNIVORA. 1S,5 



the river. The bear sprang after tlicm, and was very near the hintlerino-st 

 man, when one of the hunters on tlic shore shot huu through the head, and 

 finally killed hiui. '\^'hcn they dragged him on shore, they found that eight 

 balls had passed through his b(jdy in different direetions. 



This species inhabits the whole region that lies along the chain of the 

 Eoeky ^Mountains, extending north beyond the latitude of tJl'', and south 

 into ]\Ie.\iio. 



Sub-geuus TiiALARCTOS. — ^Marine Bears. The nearly amphibious habits 

 of this aroup, its lonirer bodv, leni'theued and flattened head, thick and 

 prolonged neck, the large soles of the feet, which arc clothed with fur, and 

 an additional conic tooth behind the canines, give it a character very dis- 

 tinct from the foregoing genus. It is clothed with very dense and long fin-, 

 silvcry-whitc, tinged with yellow. The claws, which are not much curved, 

 are black, short, and of great strength. 



Thalarctijs Maritiniu^. — i'olar Dear. A live specimen of this species, 

 which a few 3-ears since we had the opportunity of observing, was not far 

 from seven feet in length, and weighed aliout one thousand pounds. Adapted 

 quite as much to an aquatic life as to an existence on the land, it moves along 

 with an awkward, shutHing gallop when on shore, and yet with a rapidity 

 which rivals the swiftest pace of man. It is expert in diving, and rarely 

 fails to bring up the prey it aims for. The hairy sole, v,'hich nature has pro- 

 vided for its feet, prevents it from slipping on the ice, where the males of the 

 species reside entirely during the winter. Sometimes they are carried i'ar out 

 to sea, even as far as Xorway and Iceland, where they often land, to the dis- 

 may of the natives, who seek to find the means of destroying them. The 

 females spend the winter on the land, under the snow, where, as spring 

 approaches, they produce their yotmg, for which they manifest an extraor- 

 dinary atlection, often exposing and sacrificing their own lives in defence of 

 their cubs ; but they are ferocious to all other animals in an equal degree. 



The food of the polar bear consists of fish, seals, young whales, the car- 

 casses of dead cetaccir, and, wdieu pressed by hunger, it will attack the great 

 sea-lion, the walrus, but not often with much success. In illustration of 

 the remarkable attachment of these creatures to their young, an afi'ecting 

 instance is given in "Phipps's Voyages." '' Early (jne morning the ship's 

 crew observed three bears making their way rapidly over the Frozen Ocean, 

 in the direction of the ship, attracted probably by the scent of some blubber 

 of the sea-horse which had been set on fire, on the ice, the day before. As 

 they drew near, they were discovered to lie a she-bear and her twci cubs. 

 They ran eagerly towards the roasted blubljer, wliieli the dam tmik uii piece 

 by piece, and laid it before her cubs, reserving but a small share for herself. 



" As she was fetching away the last piece, they le\ellcd their muskets at 

 NO. V. 24 



