OF THE UNITED STATES 



465 



are not hard to find of their having attained a length of 9 feet 

 and a weight of 1,600 pounds. It is claimed by some that in the 

 case of this species the female alone hibernates, and that the 

 male may be seen abroad at all seasons. Owing to the fact that 

 this bear is an arctic variety, the sportsmen of the country but 

 rarely have the opportunity of hunting it; and consequently we 

 must turn to the accounts left us by the famous explorers of 

 those frigid regions in order to gain any knowledge of the habits 

 of this species. Sabine, Cartwright, Lyon, Sir John Ross, Sir 

 Edward Perry, Franklin, Richardson, Dr. Kane, and a host of 

 more recent explorers have made the habits and geographical 

 range of Thalassarctos well known to us; and these narratives 

 are of a nature sufficiently exciting to arouse the enthusiasm of 



Fig. 127. Finished Model for Young Polar Bear 

 ( Thtilassarctos maritimus). 



one who perhaps has become more or less satiated by the untold 

 numbers of black bears and grizzlies he has slain. 



A peculiar character seen in the Polar bear is that this species 

 has a good growth of fine hair upon the soles Of its feet. It is a 

 remarkable nice provision, for it not only keeps the animal's 

 pedal extremities warm while tramping over the ice, but it also 

 renders the slipping about upon the same footing far less likely. 

 There are some splendid bear pits here in the National Zoologi- 

 cal Gardens of Washington, D. C, and among the various species 

 of bears confined therein we also find two or three fine examples 

 of the Polar. Their habits in confinement are very interesting 

 and well deserving of close study, and this study has been 



