The white bear seems the only animal, that by being placed in the coldest chmate, grows larger than those that live in the temperate zones.* All other species of animated nature dimi nish as they approach the poles, and seem contracted in their size by the rigours of the ambient atmosphere; but the bear, being unmolested in these desolate climates, and meeting no animal but what he can easily conquer, finding also a sufficient supply of fishy provisions, he grows to an enormous size; and as the lion is the tyrant of an African forest, so the bear remains undisputed master of the icy mountains in POLAR BEAR.-In the arctic regions where the vegetable kingdom is feebly represented by lichens and mosses, but where, on the contrary, the ocean teems with myriads of small mollusca, and at the same time exhibits animal life under its bulkiest forms, here the polar bear is found laying wait for and combating the walrus and the seal; pursuing and overtaking in its own element the swift salmon; employing stratagem to surprise the smaller quadrupeds and birds which in summer-time visit the higher latitudes; less delicate also in his appetites than the more strictly carnivorous quadrupeds, this species does not disdain to feast on the stranded carcass of the whale; and being of a slothful disposition, he prefers this more easy and more abundant sustenance to that which demands from him more active predatory exertions. In the tropical regions, on the contrary, where vegetation is exhibited under the most luxuriant forms and in the greatest profusion, the bears live almost exclusively on vegetable matter; and it is interesting to observe that these species are the smallest of the genus, and are consequently best fitted for climbing; whilst the bears inhabiting the wilds of Siberia, the Rocky Mountains of North America, and the arctic icebergs, attain that superior size and strength which enable them to execute the acts of destruction necessary for their own support and existence. Besides differences in size and colour, there are few characteristics by which the species can be distinguished from each other; and these marks of distinction are by no means prominent or easily perceived. Linnæus, who had never had an opportunity of examining the polar bear, doubted even its specific difference from the brown bear. which (The Polar Bear.) consequently was the only one admitted into his catalogue of species. This species ranks among the larger productions of the animated creation; but it must be observed that in the accounts of the older navigators its size has been greatly exaggerated. Those seen by the naturalists who accompanied Captain Parry in the northern expeditions, did not in general exceed seven or eight feet in length. Captain Lyon has given the dimensions of one which was considered to be unusually large, being 8 feet 72 inches long, and weighing 1,600 lbs. A female which was attended by two cubs, was killed on the 31st of August, 1822, and was so small that two or three men were able to lift her into a boat; yet she must have attained the period at which she was capable of propagating her kind on or before the autumn of the preceding year. In its choice of habitation the polar bear differs most from the rest of the species. Instead of seeking concealment in the depths of forests, it prefers the floating iceberg and the open sea, its powers of swimming peculiarly adapting it to that sphere of existence. It rarely frequents the coasts of the Frozen Ocean, and does not descend to the eastern boundary of Siberia, nor to Kamtschatka : and although it is met with on the north coast of America and in Hudson's Bay, it does not inhabit the islands between America and Siberia. They resort to Spitzbergen in great numbers, and sometimes are transported on the ice to the coasts of Iceland and Norway; but the inhabitants of these places destroy them as soon as they are detected. The part of Siberia where they are found to be most numerous is at the mouths of the rivers Lena and Janissea. Spitzbergen and Greenland. When our mariners land upon those shores, in such parts as have not been frequented before, the white bears come down to view them with an awkward curiosity; they approach slowly, seeming undetermined whether to advance or retreat, and being naturally a timorous animal, they are only urged on by the conscious experience of their former victories; however, when they are shot at, or wounded, they endeavour to fly, or finding that impracticable, they make a fierce and desperate resistance till they die. As they live upon fish and seals, their flesh is too strong for food, and the captors have nothing but the skin, to reward them for the dangers incurred in the engagement. The number of these animals that are found about the north pole, if we consider the scarcity thereof, of all other terrestrial creatures, is very amazing. They are not only seen at land, but often on ice-floats several leagues at sea. They are often transported in this manner to the very shores of Iceland, where they no sooner land but all the natives are in arms to receive them. It often happens, that when a Greenlander and his wife are paddling out at sea, by coming too near an ice-float, a white bear unexpectedly jumps into their boat, and if he does not overset it, sits calmly where he first came down, and like a passenger suffers himself to be rowed along. It is probable the poor little Greenlander is not very fond of his new guest, however he makes a virtue of necessity, and hospitably rows him to shore. As this animal lives chiefly upon fish, seals, and dead whales, it seldom removes far from the shore. When forced by hunger, it often ventures into the deep, swims after seals, and devours whatever it can seize; it is however but a bad swimmer, and it is often hunted in this manner by boats, till it is fatigued, and at last destroyed. It often happens that a battle ensues between a bear and a morse or a whale; as the latter are more expert in their own element, they generally prove victorious. However, when the bear can find a youn ale, it repays him for the danger he incurs of meeting with the parent The females go with young six or seven months, and are supposed to bring forth in the month of March. The number of their young is generally two, which follow their dam everywhere, subsisting on her milk until the winter that succeeds their birth. It is said that the mother carries them on her back when she swims from iceberg to iceberg. Nothing precisely is known of the longevity of the polar bear. It is hunted principally for its hide and fur, which from the softness of its texture is more esteemed than that of the brown bear.-ZOOLOGICAL MAGAZINE. BEAR IN INDIA.-Many persons have disputed the existence of the bear in India. Facts, however, impose a silence on all at tempts at reasoning on this point, as to its heavy coat of hair, and the heat of the country; for to the great annoyance of the villagers, bears not only exist in India, but do much mischief to the crops, and occasionally devour many of the inhabitants. The Bengal bear is distinguished by the deep black colour of his hair, and by a crescent of white hair like a gorget on his breast. The hind legs are shorter, and the paws flatter and longer than those of European breed; his pace is more shuffling, awkward, and laboured, though quick enough to overtake a man on foot; and his hair is long, and thinly scattered over his body. He is remarkably active in climbing; frequently when not more than a month old, a cub will ascend to the shoulders of his keeper with great ease, and descend again stern foremost with equal adroitness. They are of a most sanguinary disposition, and will chew and suck at a limb till it be a perfect pulp. They do not bite away the flesh like most beasts of prey, but prefer extracting the blood and juices by suction. While stationed at Dacca, I went with a party several times to the great house at Tergong, distant about five miles from the town. I had on several occasions seen bears among the wild mango tops, and did not consider them as being so dangerous, until one day as I was returning with a friend from hunting some hog-deer, we heard a most lamentable outcry in the cover through which we had to pass. Having our spears, and being provided with guns, we alighted, not doubting but a leopard had attacked some poor woodcutter. We met a woman whose fears had deprived her of speech, and whose senses were just flitting. She, however, collected herself sufficiently to pronounce the word bauloo, which signifies a bear. She led us with caution to a spot not more than fifty yards distant, where we found her husband extended on the ground, his hands and feet as I before observed, sucked and chewed into a perfect pulp, the teguments of the limbs in general drawn from under the skin, and the skull mostly laid bare, the skin of it hanging down in long strips, obviously effected by their talons. What was most singular, was, that the unhappy man retained his senses sufficiently to describe that he had been attacked by several bears the woman said seven-one of which embraced him while the others clawed him about the head, and bit at his arms and legs, seemingly in competition for the booty. We conveyed the wretched object to the house, where, in a few hours, death relieved him from a state in which no human being could afford the smallest assistance. These merciless brutes dash from the covers, both single and in numbers, to attack passengers. As to escaping into trees, that would be poor evasion; for the bear climbs with astonishing ease. Among the many anecdotes related of this animal, the following, which I believe to be true, is perhaps as whimsical as any that could be adduced. A gentleman, who was proceeding post to Mednapore, found his palankeen suddenly put down, or rather dropped, without much ceremony or regard to its contents, by the bearers, who as abruptly took to their heels in various directions. On putting his head out to ascertain the cause of so unpleasant a circumstance, the gentleman discovered a half. grown bear smelling about the machine. Bruin no sooner saw the traveller than he boldly entered at one side; and, as the palankeen was of the old fashion, with a highly arched bamboo, he could not be opposed. The gentleman thought it necessary to relinquish his situation in favour of his shaggy visiter; who, with as little ceremony as he had entered, passed through, following the gentleman with some very suspicious hints, such as barking and champing of the teeth. After some manoeuvres on both sides, a close action commenced, in which either party at times might claim the victory. The bearers had collected themselves on a high spot, whence they could have an excellent" bird's eye view" of the battle; but whether from prudence, or impelled by curiosity to ascertain what would be the result of an engagement between an English gentleman and a Bengal bear, all kept aloof from the combatants. As the chances varied, so did the bearers express their approbation; applauding each as he seemed by his superiority to merit their plaudits. When the gentleman chanced to have the upper hand, they cheered him with "Sawbash saheb,"-i. e., well done, master; and when the bear became lord of the ascendant, they paid the just tribute to his exertions with "Sawbash baulvo," i. e., well done, Mr. Bear. Now and then an interjection, wau! wau! expressive of the highest admiration, was uttered with no small emphasis, indiscriminately, as it might be in justice merited by either party. Fortunately the gentleman succeeded, and after receiving many desperate wounds, throttled the bear. When the contest was over the bearers returned, and after overwhelming their master with compliments, bore him on his journey. On their arrival at the next stage, the bearers were all taken into custody; and the magistrate, according to the laudable cus tom prevalent in India, where offences are punished without very nicely examining the exact spot and hour of perpetration, bestowed on each of the critics a hearty chastisement in the market-place; while the applauding crowd of spectators did not fail, at each turn of the instrument, to repeat "Sawbash saheb!" and when pain induced the culprits to writhe, in hopes to evade the whip, others would ironically exclaim," Sawbash bauloo !" -ORIENTAL FIELD SPORTS. RING BEARS. Bears have occasionally white rings round their necks. At this very time, indeed, I have two of these animals in my possession, whose mother I shot in the Scandinavian forests. They are male and female: the female has that peculiar markthe male, however, is without it: this contradicts the commonly received opinion that the ring is confined to the male bears. On this subject, Mr. Nilsson, who has recently published a work on Scandinavian Zoology, observes, that "bears usually lose the ring after the second or third year; some few, however, preserve it all their lives, and these are called ring-bears.-LLOYD'S FIELD SPORTS. SCANDINAVIAN BEARS.-Many naturalists assert that the Scandinavian bear does not subsist upon flesh. For years bears reside in the neighbourhood of cattle without doing them any injury, although, as is notoriously the fact, they will sometimes visit herds solely from the desire of prey. Young bears seldom molest cattle; but old bears, after having tasted blood, often become very destructive. "The bear," Mr. Nilsson observes," is more or less noxious as the weather varies; for if it be clear and dry, his attacks upon cattle are less frequent than when the summer is wet and cloudy." The bear feeds on roots, and the leaves and small branches of the aspen, mountain ash, and other trees. He is also fond of succulent plants, such as angelica, mountain thistle, &c.; to berries he is likewise very partial-of these he devours vast quantities. Ripe corn he also eats, and he sometimes commits no little havoc amongst it; for, seating himself on his haunches in a field of it, he collects with his outstretched arms nearly a sheaf at a time, the ears of which he then devours. During the summer the bear is always lean; but in the autumn, when the berries are ripe, and he has consequently a greater facility of obtaining food, he generally becomes very fat. Towards the end of October, Brown resin. Green essential (volatile) oil; smells like turpentine. to the roofs of cowhouses, tearing the same off, descending and slaughtering the poor animals confined within, and actually carrying them away by shoving or lifting them through the aperture by which they themselves had entered," we would pause and seek to be assured that Scandinavian cows are not English calves.-Ed. however, he ceases for that year to feed; his bowels and stomach become quite empty and contracted into a very small compass, whilst the extremity of them is closed by an indurated substance which in Sweden is called tappen. This is composed, as it is said, of the last substances, such as pine leaves, and what he obtains from the ant-hills, of which the bear has eaten. If, in the course of the COURAGE.—Mr. Lloyd quotes an anecdote, winter, the bear be frightened out of his den of many amusing ones of Frederick the First, and very severely hunted, he once in a while King of Sweden, who had a very large lion passes the tappen-in which case, it is presented to him by the Barbary powers. said, he immediately grows excessively thin. There were several bears kept by the butchThough the tappen has probably been known ers about the shambles in Stockholm, and his to the bear-hunters of the north for ages, Mr. Majesty being anxious to witness a renconFalk was, I believe, the first to bring the cir- tre between one of these animals and the lion, cumstance before the notice of the public. I ordered them to be brought into contact with have had a tappen, taken from one of the each other. In the lion's den there were two bears that I myself killed in the winter season, apartments, into one of which the bear was carefully analyzed, the component parts of introduced. On the lion, however, getting which were as follow:access to that animal, he found him posted in a corner; when going up to him, he gave him a slight rap with his paw, as if to see of what materials his visiter was composed. The bear not liking this kind of salutation, growled and endeavoured to parry it. This made the lion angry; when, "with one fell swoop," with his paw, as the story goes, he laid the bear dead at his feet. It is of course idle, continues that writer, to make a comparison between the powers of the lion and the bear, from the anecdote I have just related; I think, however, that there are bears to be found in the Scandinavian forests, that even the lord of the African deserts would find some difficulty in annihilating at a single blow. Nilsson, the Swedish writer, observes that the bear's attack on men or inferior animals is always commenced with the fore paws, with which he either strikes like the cat, or endeavours to squeeze his enemy to death. Men that have been struck, that gentleman observes, have mostly been hit with the fore paws on the upper part of the head, with such force, that the whole skull has been laid entirely bare.-LLOYD'S FIELD SPORTS. Pale yellow fat (fixed) oil; smells rancid. Lignia. Pectic acid. Formic acid. Sulphates, phosphates, and muriates. The ashes contain oxides of iron and man. ganese kali.-LLOYD'S FIELD. SPORTS. STRENGTH.-The bear is a fast and good swimmer, and in hot weather bathes frequently; he climbs well, but in descending trees or precipices always comes down backwards. The strength of the bear is very great, but we cannot credit the statement made by Mr. Lloyd quoting from Nilsson, "that a bear has been seen walking on his hinder feet along a small tree (stock) that stretched across a river, bearing a dead horse in his fore paws!" The prowess of the bear, with all respect for Nilsson's veracity may be surprising, but when we are told "that several instances have occurred of their climbing on CHAP. XXX. THE BADGER. THE badger's legs are so short, that its belly seems to touch the ground; this however is but a deceitful appearance, as it is caused by the length of the hair, which is very long all over the body, and makes it seem much more bulky than it really is. It is a solitary, stupid animal, that finds refuge remote from man, and digs itself a deep hole with great assiduity. It seems to avoid the light, and seldom quits its retreat by day, only stealing out at night to find subsistence. It burrows in the ground very easy, its legs being short and strong, and its claws stiff and horny. As it continues to bury itself, and throw the earth behind it to a great distance, and thus forms to itself a winding hole, at the bottom of which it remains in safety. As the fox is not so expert at digging into the earth, it often takes possession of that which has been quitted by the badger, and some say, forces it from its retreat by laying its excrements at the mouth of the badger's hole. (The Badger.) This animal, however, is not long in making itself a new habitation, from which it seldom ventures far, as it flies but slowly, and can find safety only in the strength of its retreat. When it is surprised by the dogs at some distance from its hole, it then combats with desperate resolution; it falls upon its back, defends itself on every side, and seldom dies unrevenged in the midst of its enemies. The badger, like the fox, is a carnivorous animal, and nothing that has life can come amiss to it.* It sleeps the greatest part of its time, and thus, without being a voracious feeder, it still keeps fat, particularly in winter. They always keep their hole very clean, and when the female brings forth, she makes a comfortable warm bed of hay, at the bottom of her hole, for the reception of her young. She brings forth in summer, generally to the number of three or four, which she feeds at first with her milk, and afterwards with such petty prey as she can surprise. She seizes the young rabbits in their warren, robs birds' nests, finds out where the wild bees have laid up the honey, and brings all to her expecting brood. The young ones when taken are easily tamed, but the old still continue savage and incorrigible; the former, after a short time, play with the dogs, follow their master about the house, but seem of all other animals the most fond of the fire. They often approach it so closely, that they burn themselves in a dangerous manner. They are sometimes also subject to the mange, and have a gland under their tail, which scents pretty strongly. The poor of some countries eat their flesh, which, though fat, is at best but rank and ill tasted.† FOOD.-The principal food of the badger it has very small eyes and very short legs. is roots, fruits, snails, and worms. It seems and is only one foot nine inches long, with quite a mistake, their living on animal food. a tail of nine inches. THE SPOTTED BADGER.-The spotted badger is of a white colour, marked with reddish, yellow, and dusky spots. It inhabits Europe and the north of Asia, as far as the northern provinces of Persia and China, and in Japan. The white badger is said by Brisson to have been brought from New York; THE AMERICAN BADGER inhabits Labrador, and the country about Hudson's Bay. It has a strong resemblance to the common or European badgers, but is somewhat smaller, and the hair is longer, more soft and silky; the ears are short, and of a white colour, edged with black. |