136 WILD ANIMALS. 



CHAPTER X. 



BEAES (UESID^). 



The bears, genus TJrsidse, belong in Natural History to the sub- 

 order Garnivora and to tbe Plantigrade tribe, so called because 

 tbej walk on tbe whole sole of the foot, in contradistinction to 

 the Digitigrades, such as cats and dogs, who rest their weight only 

 upon the toes or front part of the paws. The animals belonging 

 to this subdivision are remarkable for their thick-set, clumsy 

 appearance. They entirely lack the slender shape, supple beauty, 

 and agile gait of the Digitigrades, but have a heavy shuffling mode 

 of progression, due to the construction of their limbs, which unfits 

 them for speed or for leaping. The bears have solid-looking, 

 peculiar shaped bodies, with a conspicuous massiveness of the 

 hinder parts, thick and long far, short legs and such small tails, 

 that they appear to be almost destitute of the appendage. The 

 young bears when born are very small — most disproportionately 

 so in some species — and in such an undeveloped condition, that 

 they are not even covered with hair, nor do their eyes open for 

 more than a month. 



There are several species or varieties of the bear family, the 

 principal ones being the Polar bear {Ursus maritimus), the Grizzly 

 bear {Ursus ferox) , the Black bear (Ursus Americanus), and the 

 Brown bear (Ursus arctos). 



With the exception of the Sloth or Honey bear, the dental 

 formula of all varieties is the same. As they are thoroughly omni- 

 vorous animals, their digestive organs and teeth are so constructed 

 that they are enabled to select either food, but the majority of 



