OEDEE OF CAENIYOEA. 
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bilis), Fig. 175, known also as the Ferocious Bear, is a native of 
the slopes of the Bocky Mountains. If we may credit the 
accounts of travellers, the Grizzly Bear is the most formidable 
of all the Carnivora, not even excepting the Lion and the Tiger. 
It is said to delight in slaughter, and that it attacks without 
hesitation the immense herds of Bison which people the plains in 
the vicinity of its habitat. But these assertions are probably 
exaggerated. That the Grizzly Bear is stronger and more carni- 
vorous in its nature than the brown or black species is credible ; 
but it is highly improbable that it is possessed of the ferocity 
which is attributed to it. There can be no doubt that it feeds on 
living prey, but only, in our belief, when berries, seeds, and roots 
fail to afford it a sufficient sustenance.* 
The White or Polar Bear ( Ursus maritimus) enjoys a reputation 
for boldness and voracity. Doubtless, much of its ferocity is to 
be attributed to the barrenness of the regions which it inhabits, 
the absence of vegetation obliging it to attack animals to supply 
its craving appetite. Its domain includes all those solitudes 
which surround the arctic pole — Greenland, Spitzbergen, JNova 
Zembla, &c. Over these vast ice-fields it reigns supreme. It 
pursues the Walrus and the Seal, which it catches with ease, for 
it both swims and dives with extraordinary skill. 
White Bears also feed on such dead Fish, Amphibia, Cetacea, 
&c., as the sea throws upon the beach. In the summer time, 
when they betake themselves to the forests farther inland, they 
attack the Mammals which are natives of these regions, especially 
Beindeer. But notwithstanding their apparent love of flesh, they 
are able to subsist upon vegetable diet. 
Most mariners who have been detained by the ice in the polar 
seas have had frequent encounters with White Bears. Instances 
have been known in which they pursued them into their vessels, 
even endeavouring to make their way into cabins at night through 
the port-holes. 
The White Bear is terrible in its attack. Accustomed, as it is, 
to meet with little or no resistance, and not even suspecting 
* The courage, vitality, and strength of this animal cannot he over estimated. 
Its size is enormous ; a specimen exhibited in the United States was said to weigh 
2,000 lbs.— Ed. 
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