MAMMALIA. VERJE. Bear. 185 



confined to their dens, during the winter, they fuck their paws. The Brown Bear procreates about 

 the end of June, -and the Black about the end of October, and both kinds, going about a hundred and 

 twelve days, bring forth one or more at a birth. In the colder regions the Bears hybcrnate, or pafs 

 the winter in a ltateof torpidity, retiring into dens in the clefts of rocks, or in the hollows of old 

 trees, where they remain wrapt up in warm foft beds of mofs, ufually from the middle of November 

 to the breaking up of the winter froft, and abflain from food during all that period : They go into 

 their winter retreats extremely fat, but, as they eat nothing during that feafori, they are exceffively 

 lean in fpring, and are commonly forced to come out by extreme hunger. They generally walk about 

 with great gravity and compofure, except when attacked or irritated; on which occafion they become 

 very active, and, rifmg upright on their hind legs, ftrike with both fore feet ; they feldom attack 

 mankind, except when irritated, and on thefe occalions the female obliges her young ones to climb 

 rip trees, if at hand, before fhe ventures to fight ; they always defcend trees with their hinder parts 

 foremoft, of which they are very careful. Bears are not infefted with fleas ; and it is faid that they 

 are frightened by mufic : They ftand upright, naturally, on their hind legs, and fwim with great fa- 

 cility ; in confequence of the membrana nictitans, their afpect is cruel, furly, and unplcafant : The 

 thumb, or inner toe, on each foot is fmaller than the reft; the female has four dugs; the fkull is lefs 

 than that of the Lion, though the brain is larger; their tendons are in great requcft among the Lap- 

 landers for making thread ; their flelh is reckoned delicious food, efpecially when fat ; their gall is 

 exceffively bitter, and is efteemed a valuable medicine in epileptic cafes ; and their greafe or fat is 

 "much valued as a cofmetic, efpecially for caufing the hair to grow. 



2. Polar Bear. — 2. Urfus marithnus. 5. 



Of a white colour, with a very fhort tail 5 and having a longifh neck and head. 

 Erxleb. mam. 160. Schreber, iii. 513. t. cxli. 



-Urfus marinus, or Sea Bear. Pallas, It. iii. 691. and Spic. zool. xiv. 1.— 24. t. 1. — Urfus albus, 

 or White Bear, having the tail of the fame colour. BrifT. quad. 188. — Urfus maritimus albus, Ur- 

 fus major areticus, Larger Arctic Bear, or White Sea Bear. Martin, Spit. 73. t. O. f. C. — Ur- 

 fus albus, or White Bear. Jonft. quad. 126. Muf. Worm. 319. Klein, quad. 82. Sm. Buff. viii. 

 216. pi. eclxxxix. — Polar Bear. Penn. hift. of quad. n. 175. pi. xxxiii. fig. 1. Aret. zool. n. 18. — 

 WehTe Baer. Ridinger, Baeren. t. 3. Ed. Col. Muf. Weir's Muf. 



Inhabits within the Arctic circle, being found chiefly in Greenland, Spitzbergen, about Hudfon's 

 Bay, Nova Zembla, and from the river Ob, in Siberia, to the Jenifei and Lena. — Polar Bears are found 

 in great abundance on the ice-iflands of thefe northern feas, preying on filh.es, feals, and cetaceous a- 

 nimals ; they feldom penetrate into the inhabited countries farther fouth, yet are fornetimes found in 

 Newfoundland, Iceland, and the more interior parts of northern Ruffia and Siberia, into which they 

 penetrate either from extreme, neceffity, or from having loft their way during fogs, and on thefe oc- 

 caflons they are fornetimes neceffitated to feed on vegetables. The female goes fix or feven months 

 with young, and ufually brings forth two cubs in the month of March. In manners and appearance 

 this fpecies refembles the former ; which has, however, a larger head and a thicker muzzle. The 

 fkin of fome individuals of this fpecies is thirteen feet long; the head and neck are long, with fhort 

 round ears, and the nofe is tipt with black ; the feet and legs are of vaft fize ; the teeth are very- 

 large ; the fur is long, foft, fhaggy, and generally of a yellowifh white colour: This fpecies feems ex- 



Vol. I. A ?. tremely 



