ORDER OF CARNIVORA. 433 



hiUs), Fig. 175, known also as the Ferocious Bear, is a native of 

 tke slopes of the Rocky Mountains. If we may credit the 

 accounts of travellers, the Grizzly Bear is the most formidable 

 of all the Carnivora, not even excepting the Lion and the Tiger. 

 It is said to delight in slaughter, and that it attacks without 

 hesitation the immense herds of Bison which people the plains in 

 the vicinity of its habitat. But these assertions are probably 

 exaggerated. That the Grizzly Bear is stronger and more carni- 

 vorous in its nature than the brown or black species is credible ; 

 but it is highly improbable that it is possessed of the ferocity 

 which is attributed to it. There can be no doubt that it feeds on 

 living prey, but only, in our belief, when berries, seeds, and roots 

 fail to afford it a sufficient sustenance.* 



The White or Polar Bear ( Ursus maritimiis) enjoys a reputation 

 for boldness and voracity. Doubtless, much of its ferocity is to 

 be attributed to the barrenness of the regions which it inhabits, 

 the absence of vegetation obliging it to attack animals to supply 

 its craving appetite. Its domain includes all those solitudes 

 which surround the arctic pole — Greenland, Spitzbergen, Nova 

 Zembla, &c. Over these vast ice-fields it reigns supreme. It 

 pursues the Walrus and the Seal, which it catches with ease, for 

 it both swims and dives with extraordinary skill. 



White Bears also feed on such dead Fish, Amphibia, Cetacea, 

 &c., as the sea throws upon the beach. In the summer time, 

 when they betake themselves to the forests farther inland, they 

 attack the Mammals which are natives of these regions, especially 

 Reindeer. But notwithstanding their apparent love of flesh, they 

 are able to subsist upon vegetable diet. 



Most mariners who have been detained by the ice in the polar 

 seas have had frequent encounters with White Bears. Instances 

 have been known in which they pursued them into their vessels, 

 even endeavouring to make their way into cabins at night through 

 the port-holes. 



The White Bear is terrible in its attack. Accustomed, as it is, 

 to meet with little or no resistance, and not even suspecting 



* The courage, -vitality, and strength of this animal cannot be over estimated. 

 Its size is enormous ; a specimen exhibited in the United States was said to weigh 

 2,000 lbs.— Ed. 



F F 



