THE WHITE BEAR. 39 



the period of her accouchement. Within this strange nursery 

 she produces her young, and remains with them beneath the 

 snow until the month of March, when she emerges into the 

 o-uter air, bringing with her the baby bears, who are then about 

 as large as ordinary rabbits. As the time passes on, the breath 

 of the family, together with the warmth exhaled from their 

 bodies, serves to enlarge the cell, so that in proportion with 

 their increasing dimensions, the accommodation is increased to 

 suit them. As is the case with the snow-covered sheep, the 

 hidden Bear may be discovered by means of the little hole 

 which is made by the warm breath, and is rendered more dis- 

 tinguishable by the hoarfrost which collects around it. 



This curious abode is not sought by every Polar Bear. None 

 of the males trouble themselves to spend so much time in a 

 state of seclusion; and as the only use of the retreat is to 

 shelter the young, the unmarried females roam freely about 

 during the winter months. The habit of partial hibernation 

 is common to most, if not to all true Bears, and we find that 

 the White Bear of the Polar regions, the Brown Bear of Europe, 

 and the Black Bear of Northern America, agree in this curious 

 habit. Before retiring into winter quarters, the Bear eats 

 enormously, and, driven by an unfailing instinct, resorts to the 

 most nutritious diet, so that it becomes prodigiously fat. In 

 this condition it is in the best state for killing, as the fur par- 

 takes of the general fulness of the body, and becomes thick and 

 sleek, as is needful when we consider the task which it has 

 to perform. 



During the three months of her seclusion, the Polar Bear 

 takes no food, but exists upon the store of fat which has been 

 accumulated before retiring to her winter home. A similar 

 phenomenon may be observed in many of the hibernating 

 animals, but in the Bear it is more remarkable from the fact 

 that she has not only to support her own existence, but to 

 impart nourishment to her offspring. It is true, that in order 

 to enable them to find sufficient food, they are of wonderfully 

 small dimensions when compared with the parent ; but the fact 

 remains, that the animal is able to lay up within itself so large 

 a store of nutriment that it can maintain its own life and suckle 

 its young for a space of three months without taking a nioisel 

 of food. 



