MAMMALS 



325 



The grizzly bear, which Hves among the Roddies, is the 

 most ferocious and largest of the bears. It often weighs 

 six to eight hundred pounds. 



Tlie hon (Fig. 212) is simply an enormous cat ; it is some- 

 times called " king of beasts." The light, springy, silent 

 step and graceful, almost majestic stride of the lion differ 

 markedly from the clumsy, heavy step of the bear. A 

 lion may attain a weight of six hundred pounds. 



The tiger is a beautiful and magnificent cat found in 

 southern Asia from Persia to India, and in the Malay 

 Peninsula and the adjoining islands of Sumatra and Java. 

 It equals and, it is said, exceeds the lion in size; without 

 question, it exceeds the lion in strength and ferocity. 



The fur seals, walruses, etc., are flesh-eating mammals 

 that have limbs greatly modified and fitted for swimming. 



The fur seal. — Really, the fur seal (Fig. 213) belongs to 

 the family of sea lions. The true seals have short necks and 

 fat bodies, while the sea 

 lions have longer necks and 

 are much more active in the 

 water and on land. 



The fur seal is very in- 

 teresting because of its 

 habits and economic value. 

 The full-grown male seal 

 weighs from four hundred 

 to five hundred pounds; 

 but the female is much smaller, often not weighing over one 

 hundred pounds. The legs of this mammal are flat and wide, 

 and the toes are united to form paddles for swimming, 

 although the hind limbs serve to scramble about over the 

 rocky beaches. 



Fig. 213. — Fur seal. 



