444 ■ ox THE BIRTH OF A POLAR BEAK CUB. 



1 Black Wallaby (Macropus tcalabatics), from ISTew Soutli Wales, 

 presented by H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, K.G., on March 4th. 



1 Scarlet-breasted Sunbird (Cinnf/ris gutiuralis), from Durban, 

 South Africa, new to the Collection, presented by Harold Millar, 

 C.M.Z.S., on March 18th. 



1 Southern Tree-Snake [Dryophis dispar), from India, new to 

 the Collection, presented by A. P. Kinloch, on March 26th. 



Mr. R. H. BuRNE, M.A., F.Z.S., exhibited, and made remarks 

 upon, a series of mounted specimens of young Fiat Fish, demon- 

 strating various stages in the transference of the left eye to the 

 right side of the head. 



Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell, C.B.E., F.R.S., read the following 

 extract from a letter he had received from Mr. E. H. Bean, 

 Director of the Washington Park, Milwaukee, Wis., U.S.A., 

 describing the successful rearing of a Polar Bear Cub : — " Our 

 cub was born December the 2nd, 1919. I am quite sure the 

 period of gestation was eight months. I removed the female 

 bear in September. She was placed in a smaller compartment of 

 our bear den, alone. The sleeping den is small, about 6 X 8 ft. 

 The outside enclosure was also small, with a bathing tank in 

 same. The mother bear bathed regularly up to about three 

 weeks before the cub was delivered. We attempted to give her 

 bedding prior to the birth of the cub, but she always put it out- 

 side and preferred the bare boards to sleep upon. She stopped 

 eating about three days befoi'e the cub came. About nine o'clock 

 in the moi-ning, December the 2nd, I passed her cage, detected a 

 strange sound, Avhicli at first I thought to be a stray cat, but 

 upon investigation, found to be coming from the polar bear cage. 

 It happened to be twelve below zero that morning, and the den 

 door faced the north, from which direction a ver}^ stiff wind was 

 blowing. The mother bear had her back to the opening, and it 

 seemed as though she had the baby cuddled up against her 

 abdomen, and covered it as best she could with her great paws. 

 I called the keeper, and he took a bale of straw on the rocks 

 above the den door and gradually drop^jed a few handfuls down. 

 I watched to see the effect it would have upon the mother bear. 

 She did not seem to be disturbed at all, just raised her head up, 

 looked around, and then settled back. We continued until we 

 had shaken up two bales of straw, pushing same well up into the^ 

 mouth of the den. During the night she took all of this straw 

 inside, and at intervals of a few days we continued until she had 

 seven bales of straw. It was very interesting to note her ability 

 to determine approaching storms. When a storm was on the 

 way, she would pack the opening from the inside, just leaving a 



