84 



Ui'.md-t:.- 



-MAMJIALIA.- 



-TJrsip.e. 



the polar seas. Dead or alive, nothing comes amiss, 

 while his skill enaliles him to secure not only fish, 

 Imt even bii-Js. The general appearance of the polar 

 bear is too well known to require a lengthened 

 description ; yet, it is necessary to notice a few of 

 the principal cliaracters. The body is more cylin- 

 drical tlian that of the land varieties of bear; the head 

 is likewise ratlier more elongated ; the ears are short. 

 Tlie muzzle is somewhat curved, the mouth being 

 comparatively small, while the neck is long and thick 

 The fur, generally speaking, is white, long, loose, 

 woolly in texture, and has a silvery lustre ; on tbe legs 

 and under the surface of the belly the hairs are much 

 more lengthened. The claws are short, only slightly 

 curved, and nearly concealed by the fur. The size 

 attained by the polar bear is very considerable. Cap- 

 tain Lyons met with a specimen measuring rather more 

 than eight and a half feet in length, and weighing six- 

 teen hundred pounds avoirdupois. The same gentleman 

 obtained from an intelligent Escpiimaux the following 

 account of the manner in whicli this animal liyber- 

 nates: — "At the commencement of winter the preg- 

 nant bears are very fat and always solitary. When a 

 heavy fall of snow sets in, the animal seeks some hollow 

 place in which she can lie down, and remains quiet 

 while the snow covers her. Sometimes she will wait 

 until a quantity of snow has fallen, and then digs her- 

 self a cave ; at all events, it seems necessary that she 

 sliould be covered by, and lie amongst the snow. She 

 now goes to sleep, and does not wake until the spring 

 sun is pretty high, when she brings forth two cubs. 

 The cave by this time lias become much larger, by the 

 eti'ect of the animal's warmth and breath, so that the 

 cnbs have room enough to move, and they acquire 

 considerable strength by continually sucking. The 

 dam at length becomes so thin and weak, that it is 

 with great dilliculty that she extricates herself, when 

 the sun is powerful enough to throw a strong glare 

 through the snow which roofs the den." AVe have 

 already alluded to this animal's cunning and activity. 

 Here is the method it adopts to catcli a seal, for the 

 account of which we are also indebted to tbe " Private 

 Journal" of Captain Lyon : — " Tbe bear, on seeing his 

 intended prey, gets quietly into the water, and swims 

 to leeward of him, from whence, by frequent short 

 dives, be silentl}' makes his approaches, and so arranges 

 bis distance that, at the last dive, be comes to the spot 

 where the seal is lying. If the poor animal attempts to 

 escape by rolling into the water, he falls into the bear's 

 clutches ; if, on the contrary, he lies still, his destroyer 

 makes a powerful spring, kills him on the ice, and 

 devours him at leisure." Captain Sir Edward Belcher, 

 in bis interesting work entitled " The Last of the 

 Arctic Voyages," also gives an amusing description of 

 the performances of a female polar bear, whose antics 

 seemed to have for their object the capture of a seal 

 by another shrewd expedient. On the first day of June, 

 185.3, he wiites: — " We pushed on for Tongue Point, 

 and there pitched. More bears ! I was bus}' on the 

 Point with the instrument, watching for an object, 

 when I noticed a lady and her cub, amusing them- 

 selves, as I imagined, at a game of romps, but the old 

 lady was evidently tbe more excited. Possibly no such 



opportunity has belore been afforded to any naturalist 

 of witnessing quietly the humours fjr habits of these 

 animals. At first the motions of the mother appeared 

 to me as ridiculously absurd, or as if she was teaching 

 her cub to perform a summerset, or something nearly 

 approaching it ; but the cub evinced no interest, no 

 participation in the sport, indeed moved otf and lay 

 down, apparently to sleep. The antics, too, of the 

 mother were too distant from the cub to prove instruc- 

 tive. I will endeavour to convey my impression of 

 the exhibition, as viewed through the telescope at a 

 distance of a quarter of a mile, as well as the object on 

 which she appeared intent. It must first be borne in 

 mind, that a bear of such dimensions as that before me 

 would weigh about six and a half or seven hundred- 

 weight. The object apparently in view was to break a 

 hole in the ice. In order to effect this the claws were 

 first put in requisition, and as nimbly and gracefully as 

 a dog did the huge creature tear up and scatter snow 

 and ice to the winds ; having removed as she imagined 

 suflicient, she then appeared to estimate her distance, 

 calculate on her leap, and in the efibrt came down 

 perpendicularly on her fore-paws over the spot wliicb 

 she bad scratched. Something, she imagined, had 

 been efl'ected. She continued to repeat this scratching 

 and amusing mode of pounding until at length she 

 appeared satisfied, when she assumed an attitude of 

 ' dead point,' with fore-paw raised, and remained fur 

 some time immovable. The question occurred to me, 

 ' Is this a mode, by concussion and making a bole, of 

 seducing a seal within gripe?' for I have repeatedly 

 noticed that when we cut for tide-bole, fire-hole, &c., 

 that these inquisitive animals will show themselves. 

 This, however, I leave for others to verify." After 

 this, an unsuccessful attempt was made to get within 

 shot, but both mother and cub made their escape. Sir 

 E. Belcher does not state whether he minutely exam- 

 ined the spot thus signalized, to ascertain if any 

 injury had been done to the ice ; nevertheless, his 

 observations liave very great interest, and the correct- 

 ness of his conjecture is placed almost beyond a doubt. 

 The female bear, as we have just seen, is very careful 

 over her cubs ; these, if taken while still very young, 

 may be successfully tamed. The following incident, 

 however, shows the necessity of caution : — An English 

 officer, while stationed at one of the more remote and 

 lonely fortresses of Canada, amused himself by taming 

 a young polar bear. He succeeded in teaching tbe 

 little cub to fetch and carrj', and its behaviour was so 

 unexceptionable that the animal was allowed to share 

 his master's meals, and to follow at bis heels when out 

 for a walk. On returning to this country, the ursine 

 pet accompanied the officer on board ship, and soon 

 acquired the unreserved confidence of tbe passengers 

 and crew, and by his facetious antics aflbrded them 

 much pleasure and diversion. In a very short time, as 

 is frequently the habit with domesticated animals, he 

 showed a particular liking for children of the female 

 SOX, and singled one out as an especial favourite ; the 

 little girl, who was a daughter of one of the lady pas- 

 sengers, reciprocated the bear's attentions, and the 

 loving pair daily romped about the deck with ecstatic 

 delight. This fun, however, was after a time destined 



