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THE SOUTHERN WORLD, JUNE 16, 1882. 7 THE l'OI.AK BEAR. MV. J. G. WOOD. There is generally an aquatic member of each group of animals throughout the ver tebrate kingdom, and among the bears this part is filled by the Nennook, or Polar Bear, sometimes called, on account of its beau tifully silvery fur, the White Bear. All the bears are good swimmers, and are able to cross channels of considerable width, but we have, in the person of the Nennook, an ani mal that is especially formed for traversing the waters and for passing its existence among the ice mountains of the northern regions. So active is this bear, and so admirable are its powers of aquatic locomotion, that it has been seen to plunge into the water in chase of a salmon and to return to the sur face with the captured fish in its mouth. And when it is engaged in the pursuit of seals, as they are lying sleeping on a rock or ice raft, it is said to employ a very ingenious assumes a milder character in tho southern climes, and contents itself with vegetable al iment. In captivity it has been fed for a considerable time on bread alone, of which it consumes about six pounds a day. Even in its wild state, It is in the habit of varying its food by sundry roots and berries, and is often found engaged in searching for these dainties at some distance from the sea shore. Even at a considerable distance and by means of the bare outline, the Polar Bear may be distinguished from every other member of the bear tribe by its peculiar shape. The neck, although extremely pow erful, is very long in proportion to the re mainder of the body, and the head is so small and sharp that there is a very snake like aspectabout that portion of the animal’s person. The shape of the head is rather remarkable; for whereas in the brown and other bears, the muzzle is separated from the forehead by a well marked depression, in the Polar Bear the line from the forehead to the nose is has often been discredited, and it has been said to make a partial migration southwards as soon as the terrible frosts of the arctic winter close up the pools whereto the seals and other animals which constitute its prey are in the habitof resorting. Other writers, again, assert that the Polar Bear ceases feed ing in the winter, as do the other members of the same group, and that the young Nen- nooks are produced while the mother is safely housed in her den. There is a truth in both these opinions, for it is now ascertained that the female Polar Bear is in the habit of hybernating, but the male Nennook passes his winter in the active exercise of his fac ulties. The winter home of the Polar Bear is al ways m ide in some sheltered situation, such as the cleft of a rock, or the foot of a. precip itous bank. In a very short time after the animal has taken up her residence in her new abode she is effectually concealed from observation by the heavy snow drifts which cover the whole country with such strangely dltion. Their mother, however, is sadly re duced by her long fast and the calls which have been made upon her by her offspring, so that she re-enters the world in a very l>oor condition of aspect and temper, as might be expected of so ravenous and hun gry an animal. Watchful over the safety of her cubs, and unburdened by any superllu- ous flesh, she is a very dangerous person to be casually met with; for she is so savage with hunger, that her temper is in a con stant state of irritation; and she is so jealous of the safety of her offspring that she sus pects every moving object to be an enemy. The flesh of tho Polar Bear is eatable and is highly esteemed by the arctic voyagers, who eagerly welcome a supply of fresh and wholesome meat, such as is furnished by the animat in question. It Is said, however, that the liver ought to be avoided as an arti cle of diet, as it is apt to cause painful and even dangerous symptoms to those who have partaken of it. Yet the liver of the Ameri can black bear is said to beapeculiar luxury THE POIiAlt BEAR. mode of approach. Marking the position in which its intended prey lies, it quietly slips into the water and diving below the surface, swims in the intended direction until it is forced to return to the surface in order to breathe. As soon as it has filled its lungs with fresh air, it again submerges itself and renews its course, timeing its submarine journeys so well, that when it ascends to the surface for the last time, it is in close prox imity to the slumbering seal. The fate of the unfortunate victim is now settled, for it can not take refuge in the water without falling into the clutches of its pursuer, and if it endeavors to escape by land, it is speed ily overtaken and destroyed by the swifter- footed bear. The endurance of the bear while engaged in swimming is very great, for it has been seen swimming steadily across a strait of some forty miles in width. Even the large and powerful walrus is said to fall a victim to the superior powers of the Polar Bear. Although its appetite is of so decidedly car nivorous a nature in the northern regions, it almost continuous. The foot of the Nennook is of surprising comparative length, for it is equivalent in length to one-sixth of the en tire length of the body, whereas in the brown bear it is but one-tenth of that measure ment. The sole of the foot is covered with a thick coating of warm fur, which is in all probability intended for the double purpose of protecting the extremities from the in tense cold of the substance which it is formed to traverse, and of enabling the creature to tread firmly on the hard and slippery ice. From this and other peculiarities of form, it is now acknowledged as a separate species of bear, and even removed into a diflerentge- nus by many naturalists; although the earlier writers on this subject supposed that it was merely a permanent variety of the brown beat, which had obtained a white coat by constant exposure to the terrible cold of these wintry regions, and whose form had been slightly modified by the ever repeated habits of its strange life. As the Nennook passes its life among the wintry regions of the north, its hybernation shaped hills and valleys, that the bear’s den is entirely undiscoverable by the eye. Some times the bear will wait until a heavy fall of snow has taken place, and then willdigaway the snow so as to form a cavern of the re quisite size. In all cases the snow appears to be a necessary element in the well-being of the animal during its long winter’s re pose. If the female bear should not be about to take upon herself thecares of mater nity, she does not think herself bound to lie hidden during the winter, but traverses the ice fields together with the male, and be comes very fat during the cold months of the year. These nomad individuals do not confine their peregrinations to the sea shore, but extend their journeys in land to a con siderable distance, being sometimes found as far as thirty miles from the sea coast. The young of the Nennook are generally two in number, and when they make their first appearance outside of the snow-built nursery in which their few months of exist ence have been passed, are about the size of Bbepherds’ dogs, and are in excellent con* when dressed on skewers, kabob fashion. Its {lowers of endurance are necessarily great, for its means of subsistence are always precarious, and in many cases are extremely small indeed. As the bear is in the habit of passing so much time upon the ice, and gen erally devours upon its frozen surface the prey which has been captured, it Is liablo to be affected by the sudden and extraordinary changes that are constantly taking place in the vast ice fields of these cold regions. Pieces of ice on which the bears are quietly sleeping after their repast, become noiseless ly dissevered from the main body and are carried off to sea for a very great distance before tho bear is aware of its enforced voy age. Scoresby records suck an instance, where he met with a Polar Bear upon a piece of drift ice that was floating at sea some two hundred miles distant from land. As the ice nourishes no animals that could afford nutriment to the white coated resident, the bear is forced to depend for its entire subsis tence upon the fish that it may l>e able to capture.—Growing World,