22 
STRANGE DWELLINGS. 
she produces her young, and remains with them beneath the 
snow until the month of March, when she emerges into the 
outer air, bringing with her the baby bears, who are then about 
as large as ordinary rabbits. As the time passes on, the breath 
of the family, together with the warmth exhaled from their 
bodies, serves to enlarge the cell, so that in proportion with 
their increasing dimensions, the accommodation is increased to 
suit them. Although covered so deeply, the hidden Bear may 
be discovered by means of the little hole which is made by the 
warm breath, and is rendered more distinguishable by the hoar- 
frost which collects around it. 
This curious abode is not sought by every Polar Bear. None 
of the males trouble themselves to spend so much time in a 
state of seclusion ; and as the only use of the retreat is to 
shelter the young, the unmarried females roam freely about 
during the winter months. The habit of partial hibernation 
is common to most, if not to all true Bears, and we find that 
the White Bear of the Polar regions, the Brown Bear of Europe, 
and the Black Bear of Northern America, agree in this curious 
habit. Before retiring into winter quarters, the Bear eats 
enormously, and, driven by an unfailing instinct, resorts to the 
most nutritious diet, so that it becomes prodigiously fat. In 
this condition it is in the best state for killing, as the fur par- 
takes of the general fulness of the body, and becomes thick and 
sleek, as is needful when we consider the task which it has 
to perform. 
During the three months of her seclusion, the Polar Bear 
takes no food, but exists upon the store of fat which has been 
accumulated before retiring to her winter home. A similar 
phenomenon may be observed in many of the hibernating 
animals, but in the Bear it is more remarkable from the fact 
that she has not only to support her own existence, but to 
impart nourishment to her cubs. It is true, that in order to 
enable them to find sufficient food, they are of wonderfully 
small dimensions when compared with the parent ; but the fact 
remains, that the animal is able to lay up within itself so large 
a store of nutriment that it can maintain its own life and suckle 
