THE BEAR FAMILY.--THE BEARS.
Characters of the URSIDÆ--Their Mode of
Progression--Teeth--Skull--Geographical Distribution--THE BROWN
BEAR--Its Occurrence--Character--Habit of Hibernating--Diet--Moral
Characteristics--Bear-baiting--Varieties--THE AMERICAN BLACK
BEAR--Its Habits--Superstitions of the Indians regarding it--THE
GRIZZLY BEAR--THE SYRIAN BEAR--THE HIMALAYAN BEAR--THE SUN BEAR--THE
SLOTH BEAR--Its Ant- and Bee-eating Propensities--THE SPECTACLED
BEAR--THE POLAR BEAR--Its Size--Characteristics--Habits--Method of
Hunting--The supposed Poisonous Properties of its Liver.
THE BEAR FAMILY.[138]
We now come to the last group of Carnivora--that of the Arctoidea--and
to a family which forms an extreme limit to the long series, of which
the Dogs constitute the centre, and the Cats the opposite end. The
latter, as we have already seen, culminate in one direction--that
is, they attain the perfection of structure for a predatory life and
flesh diet. The members of the Dog family, again, are flesh-eaters,
as a rule, but not exclusively. They are well adapted for hunting and
catching living prey, but by no means so perfectly as the Cats; they
are, indeed--from a carnivorous point of view--the inferiors of the
Feline group in teeth, in claws, and in muscular strength and agility.
The Bears, with which we have now to do, depart as widely from the Dogs
in one direction as the Cats in the other; and their distance from
the latter family is great indeed. The Cats attain the perfection of
quadrupedal form, while few animals are more clumsy and awkward-looking
than a Sloth Bear. Cats walk, with an elegant and silent tread, on the
very tips of their toes; Bears shuffle along with a waddling, though
often rapid gait, and with the whole sole of both fore and hind feet
applied to the ground, or, in other words, are wholly plantigrade. Cats
have a clean-cut, rounded face, with beautifully chiselled nostrils and
thin lips; Bears a long snout, almost like a Pig’s. The fur of Cats is
usually short and brilliantly coloured; that of Bears long, shaggy, and
sombre. Lastly, while the Cats are almost exclusively flesh-eaters,
many Bears are strict vegetarians, or at most eat such matters as Ants
and honey, and only have recourse to meat when their favourite food
cannot be had.
[Illustration: TEETH OF POLAR BEAR.
_i_, incisors; _c_, canines; _pm_, premolars (the second and third
of which are absent in both jaws); _m_, molars.]
In correspondence with the partly or entirely vegetable nature of
the Bear’s diet, we find a remarkable series of modifications in its
teeth. The front teeth, or incisors, are of considerable size, and have
three points or cusps. The great eye-teeth, or canines, although large
and formidable, are decidedly smaller in relation to the rest of the
teeth than in either the Dog or Cat group. Following these are three
very small teeth, which usually fall out at an early period, and are,
therefore, not to be found in most skulls; these, as well as the next
tooth, which is of considerable size, have their places occupied in the
young Bear by “milk-molars,” and are therefore called premolars. The
last premolar in the upper jaw is succeeded by two, that in the lower
jaw by three, true grinders or molars; so that the “dental formula” of
the Bear is the same as that of the Dog, namely, incisors, (3-3)/(3-3);
canines, (1-1)/(1-1); premolars, (4-4)/(4-4); molars, (2-2)/(3-3).
[Illustration: TEETH OF POLAR BEAR.
The incisors and grinding teeth only are shown, the grinding
surfaces of the latter being displayed.]
But though the number agrees, the form is very different. The incisors
and canines, as we have said, exhibit no difference of importance,
but the last premolar and all the molars, instead of having the sharp
cutting character they have in the Cat, and to a less degree in the
Dog, have comparatively flat crowns, raised up into a number of little
elevations or tubercles; even the “carnassial” teeth (last premolar in
the upper jaw, and first molar in the lower) have entirely lost their
scissor-blade character, and become true grinders. As a corresponding
change, the hinge of the lower jaw is no longer so constructed as to be
incapable of any but an up and down motion; it can, on the contrary,
be worked from side to side, so that the Bear can actually _chew_ his
food. The animal derives a double advantage from this: in the first
place, the food can be reduced to a pulp, a very necessary thing
for such food-materials as roots, which in an entire state would be
highly indigestible; and, in the second place, it is acted upon for a
considerable time by the saliva, and thus partially digested in the
mouth, for one of the chief properties of saliva is to convert the
insoluble, and therefore indigestible, starchy matter, of which a large
part of most vegetable substances consists, into soluble, and therefore
digestible, sugar.
It is a remarkable circumstance that the teeth have the same form in
all the Bears: though, as we shall see, while most of them are wholly
or largely herbivorous, some, such as the Polar Bear, are almost
entirely of flesh-eating habits, and one would naturally expect a
difference in the teeth. Curiously enough, however, no such difference
is apparent.
The Bears have five toes to each foot, all armed with long curved
claws. In the skull the floor of the drum cavity of the ear is hardly
at all dilated, so that there can scarcely be said to be a _bulla
tympani_ at all; moreover, a bony passage of considerable length leads
from the drum to the exterior, instead of the aperture being flush with
the wall of the drum, as in the Cats. As we have seen, the Cats have a
small _cæcum_, or blind process, to the intestine, and the Dogs one of
considerable size. In the Bear this appendage is wholly absent.
[Illustration: FEET OF BEAR.]
Bears are found over a large part of the world, in Europe, Asia,
North and South America, and North Africa. They are, however, wholly
absent from what is termed trans-Saharal Africa, that is, the part
of the continent south of the great Sahara Desert; and are also
not to be found in any part of the Australian region, or, in other
words, in Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, and the islands of the
Malayan Archipelago east of Wallace’s line. They thus have a far more
restricted distribution than either of the other two chief families of
Carnivora--the _Felidæ_ and _Canidæ_.
THE COMMON BROWN BEAR.[139]
The Brown Bear is the commonest member of the whole family, and has
been known from very early periods. It was, indeed, for a long time the
only species known to Linnæus, who recognised no other kind up to the
tenth edition of his great work, when he doubtfully admitted the Polar
Bear.
[Illustration: UNDER VIEW OF BEAR’S SKULL.
_o.c_, occipital condyle; _p_, paroccipital process; _b.ty_, bulla
tympani; _ma_, external auditory passage; _g_, glenoid cavity; _j_,
jugular arch.]
The Brown Bear is found in many parts of Europe--Norway, Russia,
Central Europe, Spain, &c.--in Siberia, Kamtchatka, and Japan, and in
a part of the Arctic regions of North America. In former times it was
found in Britain, whence it was imported by the Romans, under the name
of the Caledonian Bear, for the sports of the amphitheatre. “Ray quotes
authority for the Brown Bear being one of the Welsh beasts of chase;
and Pennant adduces the places which retained the name of Pennarth, or
the Bear’s Head, as evidence that it existed in that principality. In
the ‘History of the Gordons’ it is stated that one of that family, so
late as the year 1057, was directed by the king to carry three Bears’
heads on his banner, as a reward for his valour in slaying a fierce
Bear in Scotland.” It is, however, quite possible that this valorous
Gordon may be a mythical personage, or that he may have lived at a much
earlier period than that to which his exploit is assigned.
The Brown Bear is an awkward-looking brute, with sprawling gait,
heavy body, and no tail to speak of. It is about six feet long,
and about three or three and a half feet high at the shoulder. Its
fur is longish, rather woolly, and of a dark brown hue. It lives a
solitary life, and, like many of its kin, has the curious habit of
_hibernating_. During the summer, when food is abundant, it lays in a
very large stock of provisions, thereby becoming immensely fat. This
operation being satisfactorily performed by the beginning of winter,
the Bear, finding that his foraging operations become more and more
arduous, seeks out a resting-place, such as a hollow tree or a cavern,
or if these are not to be had, makes a sort of rude hut or nest for
himself of branches and moss, and then goes into winter quarters,
and calmly settles down for a post-prandial slumber, which lasts
until spring. He then emerges from his hiding-place, very thin and
weak--altogether a mere ghost of his former self--and immediately sets
about repairing his losses by as many hearty meals as he can possibly
cram into the time at his disposal, or as the means at his command will
allow.
[Illustration: COMMON BROWN BEAR.]
The Bear feeds chiefly on roots, berries, and other vegetables; it
has also a fondness for Ants, and a perfect passion for honey, in the
capture of which he is often severely stung about the nose--almost
his only vulnerable part--by the infuriated inhabitants of the comb.
He also preys upon small quadrupeds, and sometimes--especially when
fully adult--on larger ones. He is occasionally bold enough to attack
the Bull, but is, as often as not, worsted in the encounter. He rarely
attacks man, unless provoked, and then, when his blood is up, is a most
dangerous antagonist. His mode of attack is peculiarly his own. He
does not fell his victim with a blow of his paw like one of the larger
Cats, or seize it at once with his teeth like a Dog, but “gives it the
hug”--embraces it tightly, and with a great show of affection, with
its powerful fore limbs, and continues the squeeze until the wretched
animal is suffocated. The female Bear, especially when her family is
about, is a particularly ferocious creature. Her savageness is, indeed,
proverbial; she is devoted to her cubs, and any one threatening their
safety does so at his own peril.
The Bear is not only an affectionate mother, but is capable of a
very firm friendship, as the following anecdote, related by Mr.
Andersson,[140] shows. He tells us that, amongst a collection of
animals he possessed “were two Brown Bears--twins--somewhat more than
a year old, and playful as kittens when together. Indeed, no greater
punishment could be inflicted upon these beasts than to disunite them,
for however short a time. Still, there was a marked contrast in their
dispositions: one of them was good-tempered and gentle as a lamb,
while the other frequently exhibited signs of a sulky and treacherous
character. Tempted by an offer for the purchase of the former of these
animals, I consented, after much hesitation, to his being separated
from his brother.
“It was long before I forgave myself this act. On the following day, on
my proceeding, as usual, to inspect the collection, one of the keepers
ran up to me, in the greatest haste, exclaiming, ‘Sir, I am glad you
are come, for your Bear has gone mad!’ He then told me that during the
night the beast had destroyed his den, and was found in the morning
roaming wild about the garden. Luckily, the keeper managed to seize him
just as he was escaping into the country, and, with the help of several
others, succeeded in shutting him up again. The Bear, however, refused
his food, and raved in so fearful a manner that, unless he could be
quieted, it was clear he would do mischief.
“On my arrival at his den, I found the poor brute in a most furious
state, tearing the wooden floor with his claws, and gnawing the
barricaded front with his teeth. I had no sooner opened the door than
he sprang furiously at me, and struck me repeated blows with his
powerful paws. As, however, I had reared him from a cub, we had too
often measured our strength together for me to fear him now; and I
soon made him retreat into the corner of his prison, where he remained
howling in the most heartrending manner. It was a most sickening sight
to behold the poor creature, with his eyes bloodshot and protruding
from the sockets, his mouth and chest white with foam, and his body
crusted with dirt. I am not ashamed to confess that at one time I felt
my own eyes moistened. Neither blows nor kind words were of any effect:
they only served to irritate and infuriate him; and I saw clearly
that the only remedy would be either to shoot him or to restore him
to his brother’s companionship. I chose the latter alternative; and
the purchaser of the other Bear, my kind friend, Sir Henry Hunloke, on
being informed of the circumstance, consented to take this one also.”
A more curious case is related by Brehm, who tells us of a little
boy who crept one night for warmth and shelter into the cage of an
extremely savage Bear. The latter, instead of devouring the child, took
him under its protection, kept him warm with the heat of its body, and
allowed him to return every night to its cage. The poor boy soon died
of small-pox, and the Bear from henceforth refused all food, and soon
followed its little _protégé_ to the grave.
In former times, the Bear was in great requisition in England for the
noble sport of Bear-baiting. Bear gardens existed in many parts of the
metropolis, in which the unlucky animals were baited to death with
Dogs, for the delectation of our most religious and gracious sovereign,
good Queen Bess, and “his sowship,” her successor. The office of
keeper of the Bear Ward was considered quite an honourable post, and
was usually held by one of “Her Majesty’s Servants,” the players--by
such men, for instance, as Betterton and Alleyn the founder of Dulwich
College. It has always been the custom, too, to train Bears to walk on
their hind legs and dance. This they do much more easily than a Dog or
a Cat, on account of their broad soles.
The Brown Bear, like most animals, differs more or less in minor
characters according to the country in which it is found. The Bear of
the Pyrenees and of Austria, for instance, is described as having,
in the young condition, yellowish-white fur and black feet. Sir J.
Richardson describes a well-marked variety as occurring in North
America; this, which is quite distinct from the Grizzly and Black
Bears, he calls the Barren-ground Bear.
THE AMERICAN BLACK BEAR.[141]
This animal is distinguished from the common Brown Bear, not only by
its black fur, but by its slenderer snout, more convex forehead, and
smaller size: it rarely exceeds five feet in length. Its habits are
more strictly vegetarian than those of the brown kind. “Its favourite
food appears to be berries of various kinds, but when these are not to
be procured, it preys upon roots, insects, fish, eggs, and such birds
or quadrupeds as it can surprise. It does not eat animal food from
choice; for when it has abundance of its favourite vegetable diet, it
will pass the carcass of a Deer without touching it.”
It usually hibernates--at any rate, when able to obtain a sufficiently
plentiful meal, or rather series of meals, before the commencement of
winter. Sometimes, however, when food is scarce, Bears will roam about
the whole winter, never being able to obtain a sufficiently good feed
to warrant their going, with any safety or comfort, into permanent
winter quarters. With regard to the hibernating Bears a very remarkable
fact is mentioned by Sir J. Richardson, who is a most cautious and
accurate writer, namely, that when the Bear “comes abroad in the spring
it is equally fat” (as it was at the commencement of winter), “though
in a few days thereafter it becomes very lean.”
The Indians have an unbounded reverence for the Bear. When they kill
one, they make exculpatory speeches to it, give it tobacco to smoke,
call it their relation, grandmother, &c., and try in every possible way
to appease its _manes_. They then cook and eat it with great gusto.
[Illustration: GRIZZLY BEAR.]
THE GRIZZLY BEAR.[142]
This animal, which inhabits the region of the Rocky Mountains as far
south as Mexico, is the most savage member of the whole family, and
is more dreaded by Indian and Canadian trappers than any other. It is
stated to attain a length of nine feet and a weight of eight hundred
pounds, so that it greatly exceeds the Brown and Black Bears in size,
and approaches in these respects to the Polar Bear. Its strength is
enormous. “It has been known to drag to a considerable distance the
carcass of a Buffalo, weighing about one thousand pounds.”
The fur is of a dark-brown colour, with a good deal of grey on the
head, and is of an inferior quality to that of the brown and black
kinds. It is also distinguished from the latter by shorter and
more conical ears, by very long, arched, white claws, and by the
ridiculously small size of its tail, which is completely hidden by the
surrounding fur. “It is a standing joke among the Indian hunters, when
they have killed a Grizzly Bear, to desire any one unacquainted with
the animal to take hold of its tail.”
The Grizzly is much more carnivorous in its habits than other Bears,
and its ferocity is so great that it will often attack man unprovoked.
“The young Grizzly Bears and gravid females hibernate, but the older
males often come abroad in the winter in quest of food.”
[Illustration: ISABELLINE, OR INDIAN WHITE BEAR.]
THE SYRIAN BEAR.[143]
This animal, a fine specimen of which is in the Zoological Gardens,
is the Bear of which we have the oldest historical record. It was an
animal of this species that was slain by David during his shepherd’s
career; and two females of the same kind are stated to have attacked
the mockers of Elisha, and to have killed forty-two of them.
The Syrian Bear is found in the mountains of Palestine, and especially
in Lebanon; a variety, known as the Indian White Bear,[144] occurs in
the Himalayas. It is of a yellowish-brown colour, but this hue varies
somewhat according to sex and the season of the year. The claws are
smaller than in any of the foregoing species, and, as in the Brown
Bear, the diet is usually of a vegetable nature, recourse being had to
animal food only in times of necessity.
THE SUN BEARS.[145]
Under the name of “Sun Bear” are often included two very different
species, the Himalayan Bear, Indian Black Bear, or Tibetan Sun Bear
(_Ursus tibetanus_), and the Malayan Bear or Bruang (_U. malayanus_).
The latter differs in certain comparatively unimportant respects from
all the forms we have yet described, and is, therefore, sometimes
separated as a distinct genus (_Helarctos_).
[Illustration: MALAYAN SUN BEAR.]
The Himalayan Bear is found in Nepaul, Assam, Eastern Siberia, and
China. It is about the size of the American Bear, and, like it, has
close black fur, and a body and head more slender than those of the
Brown or Syrian Bear. It is further distinguished by its white chin, by
a broad white Y-shaped mark on the chest, and by a collar of longish
hairs on the shoulders.
The Malayan Bear, called Bruang by the Malays, is found in the Malayan
Peninsula, and in the adjacent islands of Borneo, Sumatra, and Java.
It is much smaller than the Himalayan Bear, not exceeding four feet and
a half in length. The fur is black, becoming brownish on the nose, and
the chest is marked with a crescentic white mark, or, in the Bornean
variety of the species, by a heart-shaped, orange-coloured patch. The
claws are remarkably long.
[Illustration: POLAR BEARS. (_See pp._ 174-6.)
(_From the Living Specimen in the Zoological Gardens, London._)]
The habits of the two species differ but little. In summer, according
to Dr. Jerdon, the Sun Bear “is generally found at a considerable
elevation, nine to twelve thousand feet or so, and often close to
snow; but in winter it descends to five thousand feet, and even lower
sometimes. It lives chiefly on fruits and roots, apricots, walnuts,
apples, currants, &c.; also on several grains, barley, Indian corn,
buckwheat, &c.; and in winter chiefly feeds on various acorns, climbing
the oak trees and breaking down the branches.... They are very fond
of honey. Now and then they will kill Sheep, Goats, &c., and are
occasionally said to eat flesh.... This Bear has bad eyesight, but
great power of smell, and if approached from windward is sure to take
alarm. A wounded Bear will sometimes show fight, but in general it
tries to escape. It is said sometimes to roll itself into the form of a
ball, and then roll down steep hills, if frightened or wounded. If met
suddenly, when there is no means of escape, it will attack man at once;
and curious to say, it always makes for the face, sometimes taking off
most of the hairy scalp, and frightfully disfiguring the unfortunate
sufferer. There are few villages in the interior where one or more
individuals thus mutilated are not to be met with.”[146]
The Sun Bears are distinguished in menageries for their gift of walking
about on their hind legs, which they do in a curiously human manner.
This mode of progression seems sometimes to be adopted in the wild
state. Both species are noticeable, in their state of captivity in the
Zoological Gardens, for the antics they perform. The Himalayan Bears
play with one another like two awkward boys, stand on their hind legs
to wrestle, then fall down, and roll over and over, biting and hugging
in the most laughable manner. The Malayan Bear is even more amusing.
When the keeper gives it one of the hard biscuits on which it is fed,
it will sometimes lie down on its back, and hold the biscuit now with
its fore paws, now with both fore and hind paws, swaying about all the
time, and expressing its satisfaction by the most comical noises.
Mr. Swinhoe quotes some curious notions entertained by the Chinese
respecting the Sun Bear. They are contained in the native publication
already referred to, _The Hainan Gazetteer_. “_Heirng_ [or Bear] is
fond of climbing trees and panting. Its gall in spring is in its heel,
in summer in its belly, in autumn in its left paw, in winter in its
right paw. About its heart there is a white fat, like jade, the taste
of which is extremely fine: this is usually called ‘Bear’s white.’ In
winter the Bear lies torpid, and does not eat. When hungry, it licks
its own paws, and thence the goodness in the paws.”
THE SLOTH BEAR.[147]
This curious and ungainly-looking beast is another of the Indian Bears,
being found “throughout India and Ceylon, from Cape Comorin to the
Ganges.” It is distinguished by its extremely awkward shape, its long
shaggy hair, its prolonged and very flexible snout and lower lip, all
of which peculiarities combine to give it a remarkable and anything
but prepossessing appearance. The fur is mostly black, the muzzle and
the tips of the feet being of a dirty white or yellowish colour, and
the breast ornamented with a V-shaped or crescentic mark. It attains a
length of between five and six feet.
The Sloth Bear feeds on Ants, honey, fruit, &c. “The power of suction
in the Bear, as well as of propelling wind from its mouth, is very
great. It is by this means enabled to procure its common food of white
Ants and larvæ with ease. On arriving at an Ant-hill, the Bear scrapes
away with the fore feet until he reaches the large combs at the bottom
of the galleries. He then, with violent puffs, dissipates the dust and
crumbled particles of the nest, and sucks out the inhabitants of the
comb by such forcible inhalations as to be heard at two hundred yards’
distance or more. Large larvæ are in this way sucked out from great
depths under the soil. When Bears abound their vicinity may be readily
known by numbers of these uprooted Ants’ nests and excavations, in
which the marks of their claws are plainly visible. They occasionally
rob birds’ nests, and devour the eggs.”[148]
The capture of Ants is, however, by no means always devoid of
inconvenient consequences for the ursine ravisher. The insects are as
brave and ferocious as they are industrious, and their strong sharp
mandibles are capable of making a considerable impression upon the
snout, lips, and eyelids of their huge enemy.
[Illustration: SLOTH BEAR.]
Like the Sun Bear, the Sloth Bear rarely attacks man unless provoked,
but, like it, is, when attacked, a most dangerous antagonist, always
making for the face, and especially the eyes. Both in Ceylon and in
India the natives have a very wholesome dread of the animal, and,
indeed, fear his onslaught more than that of any other beast. “Among
the Singhalese there is a belief that certain charms are efficacious in
protecting them from the violence of Bears, and those whose avocations
expose them to encounters of this kind are accustomed to carry a
talisman, either attached to their neck or enveloped in the folds
of their luxuriant hair. A friend of mine, writing of an adventure
which occurred at Anarajapoora, thus describes an occasion on which
a Moorman, who attended him, was somewhat rudely disabused of his
belief in the efficacy of charms upon Bears:--‘Desiring to change the
position of a herd of Deer, the Moorman (with his charm) was sent
across some swampy land to disturb them. As he was proceeding, we saw
him suddenly turn from an old tree and run back with all speed, his
hair becoming unfastened, and, like his clothes, streaming in the wind.
It soon became evident that he was flying from a terrific object,
for he had thrown down his gun, and, in his panic, he was taking
the shortest line towards us, which lay across a swamp covered with
sedge and rushes, that greatly impeded his progress, and prevented us
approaching him or seeing what was the cause of his flight. Missing
his steps from one hard spot to another, he repeatedly fell into the
water, but he rose and resumed his flight. I advanced as far as the
sods would bear my weight, but to go further was impracticable. Just
within ball range there was an open space, and as the man gained it,
I saw that he was pursued by a Bear and two cubs. As the person of
the fugitive covered the Bear, it was impossible to fire without
risk. At last he fell exhausted, and the Bear being close upon him, I
discharged both barrels. The first broke the Bear’s shoulder; but this
only made her more savage, and rising on her hind legs, she advanced
with ferocious growls, when the second barrel--though I do not think it
took effect--served to frighten her, for turning round she retreated,
followed by her cubs. Some natives then waded through the mud to the
Moorman, who was just exhausted, and would have been drowned but that
he fell with his head upon a tuft of grass. The poor man was unable
to speak, and for several weeks his intellect seemed confused. The
adventure sufficed to satisfy him that he could not again depend upon
a charm to protect him from Bears, though he always insisted that but
for its having fallen from his hair, where he had fastened it under his
turban, the Bear would not have ventured to attack him.’”[149]
THE SPECTACLED BEAR.[150]
One of the most comical and grotesque of all the Bear family is
the Spectacled Bear, which derives its chief attraction from the
light-coloured rings round its eyes; these--the greater part of the
face being, like the body, black--have exactly the appearance of a pair
of common “goggles,” through which the beast seems to look with an air
of mingled wisdom and imbecility. Hence, of course, we get the animal’s
English popular name.
The Spectacled Bear occurs only in South America, where it is found in
the mountainous regions of Chili. It attains a length of about three
feet and a half.
THE POLAR BEAR.[151]
The great White Bear of the Arctic regions--the “Nennok” of the
Eskimo--is the largest as well as one of the best known of the whole
family. It is a gigantic animal, often attaining a length of nearly
nine feet, and is proportionally strong and fierce. It is found over
the whole of Greenland; but its numbers seem to be on the decrease.
It is distinguished from other Bears by its narrow head, its flat
forehead in a line with the prolonged muzzle, its short ears, and long
neck. “It is of a light creamy colour, rarely pure white, except when
young: hence the Scottish whalers call it the ‘brounie,’ or ‘brownie,’
and sometimes ‘the farmer,’ from its very agricultural appearance as
it stalks leisurely over the furrowed fields of ice. Its principal
food consists of Seals, which it persecutes most indefatigably; but it
is somewhat omnivorous in its diet, and will often clear an islet of
Eider-duck eggs in the course of a few hours. I have seen it watch a
Seal for half a day, the Seal continually escaping, just as the Bear
was about putting its foot on it, at the _atluk_ (or escape hole) in
the ice. Finally, it tried to circumvent its prey in another manner.
It swam off to a distance, and when the Seal was again half asleep at
its _atluk_, the Bear swam under the ice, with a view to cut off its
retreat. It failed, however, and the Seal finally escaped. The rage of
the animal was boundless; it roared hideously, tossing the snow in the
air, and trotted off in a most indignant state of mind.”[152]
Being so fond of Seal-flesh, the Polar Bear often proves a great
nuisance to Seal-hunters, whose occupation he naturally regards as
a thoughtful catering for his wants. He is also glad of the Whale
carcases often found floating in the Arctic seas; and travellers have
seen as many as twenty Bears busily discussing the huge body of a dead
Whalebone Whale.
As the Polar Bear is able to obtain food all through the Arctic winter,
there is not the same necessity, as in the case of the vegetable-eating
Bears, for hibernating. In fact, the males and young females roam about
through the whole winter, and only the pregnant females retire for
the season. These--according to the Eskimo account, quoted by Captain
Lyon--are very fat at the commencement of winter, and on the first
fall of snow they lie down and allow themselves to be covered, or else
dig a cave in a drift, and then go to sleep until the spring, when the
cubs are born. By this time the animal’s heat has melted the snow for
a considerable distance, so that there is plenty of room for the young
ones, who tumble about at their ease, and get fat at the expense of
their parent, who, after her long abstinence, becomes gradually very
thin and weak. The whole family leave their abode of snow when the sun
is strong enough to partially melt its roof. The Eskimo have the same
theory about the hibernating Polar Bears that the Northern Indians
hold with regard to the Brown Bear, namely, that it has no evacuations
during the winter, “stopping up all the natural passages with moss,
grass, or earth.”
The Polar Bear is regularly hunted with Dogs by the Eskimo. The
following extract gives an account of their mode of procedure:--“Let
us suppose a Bear scented out at the base of an iceberg. The Eskimo
examines the track with sagacious care, to determine its age and
direction, and the speed with which the animal was moving when he
passed along. The Dogs are set upon the trail, and the hunter courses
over the ice at their side in silence. As he turns the angle of the
berg his game is in view before him, stalking, probably, along with
quiet march, sometimes snuffing the air suspiciously, but making,
nevertheless, for a nest of broken hummocks. The Dogs spring forward,
opening a wild, wolfish yell, the driver shrieking ‘Nannook! nannook!’
and all straining every nerve in pursuit.”
[Illustration: POLAR BEARS.]
“The Bear rises on his haunches, inspects his pursuers, and starts off
at full speed. The hunter, as he runs, leaning over his sledge, seizes
the traces of a couple of his Dogs, and liberates them from their
burthen. It is the work of a minute, for the motion is not checked, and
the remaining Dogs rush on with apparent ease.
“Now, pressed more severely, the Bear makes for an iceberg, and stands
at bay, while his two foremost pursuers halt at a short distance and
await the arrival of the hunter. At this moment the whole pack are
liberated; the hunter grasps his lance, and, tumbling through the snow
and ice, prepares for the encounter.
“If there be two hunters, the Bear is killed easily; for one makes a
feint of thrusting the spear at the right side, and, as the animal
turns with his arms towards the threatened attack, the left is
unprotected and receives the death-wound.
“But if there be only one hunter, he does not hesitate. Grasping the
lance firmly in his hands, he provokes the animal to pursue him by
moving rapidly across its path, and then running as if to escape. But
hardly is its long unwieldy body extended for the solicited chase,
before, with a rapid jump, the hunter doubles on his track and runs
back toward his first position. The Bear is in the act of turning
after him again, when the lance is plunged into the left side, below
the shoulder. So dexterously has this thrust to be made, that an
unpractised hunter has often to leave his spear in the side of his prey
and run for his life. But even then, if well aided by the Dogs, a cool
skilful man seldom fails to kill his adversary.”[153]
With regard to the value of the skins, Dr. R. Brown informs us that
“The Royal Board of Trade in Greenland give the natives about five
rigsdaler (11s. 3d.) for a skin. Occasionally, there are a number
killed near Cape Farewell, which have come round on the Spitzbergen
ice-stream. Here a curious custom prevails, viz., that whoever sights
the Bear first--man, woman, or child--is entitled to the skin, and the
person who has shot it only to the blubber and flesh.”
There are some dreadful tales prevalent as to the ferocity of the Polar
Bear; but these, according to the same excellent observer, approach
a good deal the nature of “yarns.” After having lived for some time
in the Arctic regions, and hunted Bears again and again, he considers
that “a great deal of the impressions which we have imbibed regarding
its ferocity are more due to old notions of _what it ought to be_
rather than _what it is_, and that the tales related by Barentz, Edward
Pelham, and other old navigators, regarding its bloodthirstiness during
the time they wintered in Spitzbergen, were a good deal exaggerated.
When enraged, or emboldened by hunger, I can, however, quite well
understand that, like all wild and even domesticated animals, it
may be dangerous to man. On the East Coast of Greenland, where they
know little of man, they are very bold. The members of the German
Expedition, when making out-door observations, had to be continually
on their guard against them. I have chased it over the floes of Pond’s
Bay, and the Bear’s only thought seemed to be how best to escape from
its pursuers. I should have hesitated a good deal before making so
free with the Grizzly Bear of the Californian wilds (_Ursus ferox_),
which is, perhaps, the most ferocious animal on the American continent.
Though seemingly so unwieldy, the _nennok_ runs with great speed, and
being almost marine in its habits, it swims well. I have chased it
with a picked crew of eight whalemen, and yet the Bear has managed
to distance us in the race for the ice-fields. It would every now
and again, when its two cubs were getting left in the rear, stop and
(literally) push them up behind; and on reaching the steep edge of the
ice-floe, finding that we were fast reaching them, it lifted each of
them upon the ice with its teeth, seizing the loose skin at the back of
the neck. Once on the ice, they were safe.
“Unlike its congeners, it does not _hug_, but _bites_; and it will not
eat its prey until it is dead, playing with it like a Cat with a Mouse.
I have known several men who, while sitting watching or skinning Seals,
have had its rough hand laid on their shoulder. Their only chance then
has been to feign being dead, and manage to shoot it while the Bear
was sitting at a distance watching its intended victim. Though Eskimo
are often seen who have been scarred by it, yet I repeat that, unless
attacked or rendered fierce by hunger, it rarely attacks man. During
our last trip to Greenland, none of our party saw one; indeed, they are
only killed in the vicinity of Disco Bay, during the winter or spring,
when they have either come or drifted south on the ice-floes. Six were
killed in the vicinity of Omenak during the winter of 1866-67.”
The flesh of the Polar Bear is sometimes eaten by the Eskimo, but parts
of it are said to be poisonous; this is especially the case with the
liver. Scoresby relates that sailors who have incautiously partaken of
the latter have been made very ill, and have died from its effects; and
Kane, who wished to try for himself the truth of the statement, was
upset by the first taste. The fat of this Bear is used for burning; it
has not the disagreeable smell of train-oil.