U R S U S. 
515 
bear lias a mode of blowing up his prey, and of hiding or 
burying a part of it. Bears are said to be fond of honey, 
and to climb trees in search of it among the nests of wild 
bees. They sometimes take up their residence in the hollows 
of very large trees. They will also catch and devour fish, 
occasionally frequenting the banks of rivers for that pur¬ 
pose. 
The bear passes a considerable part of the winter in a state 
of repose and abstinence, emerging from his den occasionally 
at distant intervals, and then concealing himself in his retreat 
till the approach of the vernal season. The females continue 
in this state longer than the males, and during this period 
bring forth their young, which are commonly two in num¬ 
ber. The young, though not shapeless animals, as some 
have erroneously conceived, ditfer in their aspect from the 
grown animal, the snout being much sharper, and their co¬ 
lour yellowish; and they are said to be blind for nearly a 
month. 
2. Ursus Americanus, or the black bear, with ferruginous 
cheeks and throat; the black bear of Pennant.—This, says 
Dr. Shaw, is a species distinct from the black bear of Europe, 
and has a long pointed nose, and narrow forehead; the hair 
of a glossy black colour, smoother and shorter than that of 
the European kind, and is generally smaller than the Eu¬ 
ropean bear.—This animal inhabits all the northern parts of 
America, and occasionally migrates to the more southerly 
parts in search of food, which is said to be entirely vegetable; 
and it is affirmed, that when urged by extreme hunger, they 
will disregard all animal food whenever they can obtain a 
supply of roots and grain. They, however, sometimes des¬ 
troy fish, and particularly herrings, when they come up into 
the creeks in shoals. They are said to continue in their 
winter retreats, either in dens beneath the snow under 
ground, or in the hollows of old trees, for the space of five 
or six weeks without food. The yellow bear from Carolina 
is supposed to be a variety of the former: it is rather smaller 
than the European bears, with a more agreeable counte¬ 
nance, and is perfectly tame and sociable; the colour being 
of a lively bright orange, inclining to reddish; the hair is 
thick, long, and silky. 
3. Ursus maritimus, or white bear, with elongated neck 
and head, and abrupt tail: the ursus maritimus albus major 
arcticus of Martens Spitzbergen, the ours blanc of Butfon, 
and the Polar bear of Pennant.—These bears, when on land, 
feed on deer and other animals, as hares, birds, &c., and 
various kinds of berries. They are said to be frequently seen 
in Greenland in large droves, allured by the scent of the 
flesh of seals, and will sometimes surround the habitations of 
the natives, and attempt to break in; and it is added, that 
the most successful method of repelling them is by the smell 
of burnt feathers. They grow extremely fat, a hundred 
pounds of fat having been taken from a single beast. The 
flesh is coarse, but the skin is valued for coverings of various 
kinds, and the Greenlanders often wear it for clothing. 
These skins were formerly offered by the hunters in the 
arctic regions to the high altars of cathedrals and other 
churches, for the priest to stand on during the celebration of 
mass in winter. The split tendons are said to form an ex¬ 
cellent thread. Pennant and Shaw. 
4. Ursus meles, or the Badger, with unmarked tail, body 
cinereous or grey above, black below, and a longitudinal 
black band through the eyes and ears.—The common badger 
is the meles of Gesner, the taxus of Aldrovandus, and the 
blaireau of Buffon.—This animal is an inhabitant of all the 
temperate parts of Europe and Asia: its form is clumsy, 
being thick-necked and thick-bodied, with very short legs. 
It commonly lodges in a hole under ground, whence it 
emerges in the night in quest of food, which consists chiefly 
of roots and fruits, and occasionally of frogs, worms, &c. 
Its eyes are small, and its ears short and round; and the 
claws of its fore-feet are very long and straight, which latter 
circumstance has induced Pennant to rank it under a genus 
distinct from that of ursus or bear. Some have, without just 
reason, distinguished between the sow-badger and the dog- 
badger, the difference being merely sexual. The hair is 
thick; the teeth, legs, and claws, are very strong; so that 
it defends itself vigorously when attacked. The young 
badger may be easily tamed, and it generally prefers raw 
flesh to every other food in a state of captivity. It is a 
cleanly animal, and keeps its habitation very neat. The 
female produces about three or four young. Like the bear, 
this animal is fond of honey, and will attack hives in order 
to obtain it. Pennant will not admit the badger to be a 
carnivorous animal, though Buffon asserts, that it drags 
young rabbits out of their burrows, and seizes birds, eggs, 
snakes, and many other animals for feeding her young. The 
badger sleeps much, especially in winter, confining himself 
to his den in a state of semi-torpidity. Ridinger has figured 
a singular variety of badger, of a white colour, with brown 
and reddish patches. Gmelin mentions two varieties, one 
white above and below yellowish; and the other spotted, 
white with reddish and brown spots.—The former is found 
in New York; the latter is very rarely met with in forests, 
in the fissures of rocks and stones. 
5. Ursus Labradorius, or the badger with the tip of the 
tail villous, and of a brownish-yellow colour; the throat, 
breast, and abdomen white, and the feet four-toed •. it is the 
pale yellowish-grey badger, with the throat and belly white, 
and the head striped with black.—This is the American 
badger of Pennant and carcajou of Buffon: and so much 
resembles the common, that it may be taken for a variety of 
it. This species is rather scarce in America.—It is found in 
the neighbourhood of Hudson’s bay, and in Terra di Labra¬ 
dor, and, according to Pennant, as low as Pennsylvania, 
where it is called the ground hog. A variety of this occurs 
in some parts of America, with the under parts slightly 
tinged with yellow: it is the first variety of common badger 
mentioned by Gmelin. 
6. Ursus lotor, or the bear with annulated tail, and black 
transverse band across the eyes.—This is the bear with a 
long tail of the Stockholm acts 1747, the bear with annu¬ 
lated variegated tail of Brisson, the mapach of Fernand and 
Nieremb., the raton of Buffon, the coati of Ray, &c., and 
the raccoon of Kalm, Pennant, &c. 
7. Ursus fuscus, or the bear with a long tail, ferruginous 
body, dusky snout, the forehead and lateral part of the body 
whitish.—This is the quick-hatch or wolverene of Edwards, 
and the wolverene of Pennant. Dr. Shaw suggests, that it 
is merely a variety of the next species. It is about twice the 
size of the common fox, and the description given of it by 
Edwards is as follows:—All the snout, upper and under jaw, 
as far as the eyes, is of a black colour; the forehead above 
becomes gradually of a whitish colour; the eyes are of a 
dark colour; the throat and lower side of the neck white, 
the first spotted with black, having some transverse bars of 
black on the under side cf the neck ; the ears are small and 
round, appearing but little longer than the hair that grows 
on the head; they are covered with short brown hair; the 
hind part of the head and neck, the whole body both above 
and beneath, the legs and tail, are all of a brown or chesnut- 
colour, clouded lighter and darker, viz., the upper side of 
the neck and beginning of the back is dusky, or very dark 
brown, which gradually changes to a lighter or more plea¬ 
sant brown in the middle of the back; this colour again 
grows by degrees darker, till it becomes almost black in the 
hind part of the back ; the tail towards the tip becomes of a 
dusky-colour; it hath a broad bar of very light ash-coloured 
brown passing round the body, beginning at each shoulder, 
proceeding on the sides backwards, and meeting on the 
rump, just above the tail, where it is broadest. The fur on 
the whole body is pretty long, and seems not to lie so flat to 
the skin as in some animals. All the feet, as far as the heel 
or first joint, are covered with short black hair, which gra¬ 
dually becomes brown above the knees; the claws are of a 
light horn-colour; it hath on each foot forwards four toes; 
the hind feet have five toes each. 
8. Ursus gulo, or the bear with tail of the same colour., 
rufous-brown body, and middle of the back black. The 
gulo of Gesn. and Aldrov., and the glutton of Buffon.—It 
is considerably larger than a badger, but varying in size: 
the 
