THE POLAR BEAR 



( Ursus maritimus) 



A Bear is usually taken as the type of everything that is uncouth 

 and grotesque, but the splendid White Bear of the north, " the whale's 

 bane, the seal's 'dread, the rider of the iceberg, the sailor of the floe," 

 as Kingsley calls him in that most living of historical novels, " Here- 

 ward the Wake," is a creature fit to rank in beauty alongside the 

 great animal nobles of the Cat family. In size he surpasses all other 

 Bears except the Alaskan race of the Brown Bear, reaching nearly 

 nine feet in length, and his proportions incline to elegance, his neck 

 being longer and his head smaller than in other "Bears, while the 

 aristocratic straightness of his profile is another distinctive mark, 

 though this occurs also in the Grizzly Bear. The soles of his feet are 

 largely covered with hair, to secure his footing on the ice ; what 

 naked skin is visible there is black, like the muzzle, lips, and even 

 the inside of the mouth, contrasting beautifully with the white fur. 

 The fur, by the way, is not always pure white, generally having a 

 creamy tinge ; it is whiter in young animals than in adults, and it is 

 noted that the large white specimens whose colour is particularly pure 

 are those which carry the most fat. The male is larger than his 

 mate, but otherwise they are much alike. 



The Polar Bear is noticeable as being one of the very few beasts 

 which are white all the year round, the only others being three very 

 different ones, the Rocky Mountain Goat {Haploceros montanus), the 

 South American White Bat {Diclidurus albus), and the Beluga or 

 White Whale {Deiphmapterus leucas), also an Arctic animal. Every 

 one knows, of course, that the Polar Bear is peculiar to the Arctic 

 regions; and, like so many Arctic animals, it is found all round the 

 world. It is much more aquatic in habits than any other Bear, 

 taking to the water readily, and diving and swimming with great 

 power- it is also very active in its movements on land, and, although 

 it has no trees to exercise its climbing powers upon, no doubt finds 



141 



