1. The Common or Brown Bear; Ursus Arctos, Linn. 2. The Pyrenean Bear, or Bear of the Asturias; Ursus pyrenæus, F. Cuv.?

3. The Norwegian Bear; Ursus norvegicus, F. Cuv.?

Bears of Asia.

4. The Siberian Bear; Ursus collaris, F. Cuv. ?
5. The Labiated Bear; Ursus labiatus, Blainville.
6. The Malayan Bear; Ursus malayanus, Raffles.
7. The Thibetan Bear; Ursus thibetanus, Cuv.

8. The Bornean Bear; Ursus eurispylus, Horsfield.
9. The Isabelline Bear; Ursus isabellinus, Horsfield.
10. The Syrian Bear*; Ursus syriacus, Hemprich.

Bears of Africa.

11. The Abyssinian Bear; Ursus habessinicus, Hemprich.? Bears of America.

12. The Spectacled Bear; Ursus ornatus, F. Cuv.
13. The Grisly Bear; Ursus ferox, Lewis and Clarke.
14. The Black Bear; Ursus americanus, Pallas.

15. The Polar Bear; Ursus maritimus, Pallas.

Those of the above species which are denoted by a mark of interrogation require additional investigation and further opportunities of comparison, before they can be admitted as species unquestionably distinct. Numbers 2, 3, and 4, may ultimately be found to be varieties only of the common European Brown Bear.

Numbers 5 to 9 have been grouped together under the subgeneric titles Prochilus and Helarctos, or Sun-bears, having some characteristics in common, in which they differ from the rest of the genus. The species 11 has only been seen in its wild state, and has not yet been scientifically described it is inserted here chiefly on account of its geographical position, being the only species of bear recorded with any degree of authenticity as inhabiting the continent of Africa.

As there is no genus of carnivorous quadrupeds in which the species present so few deviations from the common type, so are there none in which the differences of size are

This, in all probability, was the species of bear which, as an instrument of Divine displeasure, tore the children that on Mount Bethel scoffed at the Prophet Elisha: see 2nd Kings, ii. 23, 24.

so slight. The Zoological Gardens at present contain the largest and perhaps the smallest species of Bear; viz. the Grisly Bear, and the Malayan Bear; in this menagerie may also be seen and compared together the species I, 5, 12, 13, 14, and 15, of the above catalogue; besides a brown or chestnut variety of the Ursus americanus, called the Cinnamon Bear. In all these species it may be observed that the body is heavy and ungainly, the limbs short and strong, each terminated by five toes, and armed with long curved unretractile claws; their ears are short, and hairy both within and without; their body is in most of the species covered with long shaggy hair, by which the tail is almost concealed. The habits of the different species differ almost as little as their forms, and were consequently nearly as well known 2500 years ago, when studied in the common European species, as at the present day...

Thus Aristotle observes, "But the bear is omnivorous; for it eats the fruits of trees, which, through the pliability of its body, it climbs. It also eats leguminous fruits. Destroying likewise the hives of bees, it eats their honey, and feeds on crabs and ants, and is carnivorous; for on account of its strength this animal not only attacks stags, but also wildboars, if it can invade them latently. It likewise attacks bulls for attacking the bull in front, he falls on his back, and while the bull endeavours to strike him (as he lies in this supine position), the bear throws his arms round the horns of the bull, bites his shoulder, and lays him prostrate. For a short time, likewise, the bear walks erect on two feet, and eats every kind of flesh, previously masticating it."-Book viii. chap. 5 and again in chap. 17,-" Among viviparous quadrupeds, also, porcupines and bears hide themselves. That savage bears, therefore, hide themselves is evident; but it is dubious whether it is from cold, or some other cause: for both the males and females become about this time very fat, so as to be unwieldly. The female also brings forth at this season, and conceals herself till the period arrives of leading forth the young bears from her retreat but she does this in the spring, and in the third month after the winter solstice. The bear likewise is concealed for about forty days at least; and it is said, that for fourteen of these days it does not move at all, but in most of the days after these it is concealed indeed, yet is in a vigilant state, and in motion. A pregnant bear, however, has either never been caught by any one or by very few. It is evident, also, that the bear during the time of its concealment does not eat anything; for it does not come forth from its retreat; but

when it is caught, both its stomach and intestines are found to be empty."-History of Animals (Taylor's Translation). Modern observers have added little of importance to the preceding brief summary of the habits of the bear. The same uncertainty still prevails as to the duration, or even the fact, of its torpidity. Nay, almost the very words of the Greek philosopher respecting the pregnant European bear have been applied to the black bear of America; and with every appearance of being an original observation. "The bears are very common in this province (North Carolina), though not quite so large as in more northerly climates, such as Greenland and Russia. Their flesh is good and nourishing, not inferior to the best pork in taste, and is betwixt beef and pork. The young cubs are a most delicious dish, as mostof the planters testify. . . . . These beasts feed upon all manner of wild fruits, and are great devourers of every sort of fish, especially herrings, which they catch at the brook's side in the months of March and April. The flesh of those bears that feed upon them, is not good at that season, and eats filthily; neither are they good when they feed upon green berries. They are great devourers of swine that they take in the woods, especially when they are hungry and can get no other food, which is the only flesh meat they are fond of. They sometimes get into the Indian corn-fields or maize, where they generally spoil ten times more than they eat; they are so fond of the potatoes of this country, that they seldom fail to destroy and root out all clean, whenever they chance to come where they are. . . . . Notwithstanding they seem to be such a clumsy creature, yet they will nimbly climb trees when pursued by hunters and dogs, where they generally remain till shot; and it is strange to see with what agility they will go up and down the trees, and in coming down they always run tail foremost. They are likewise very dexterous and expert in fishing, catching vast quantities of several sorts of fish as they run up the narrow creeks and shallow waters to spawn. There you shall see these beasts sit and take up fish as fast as it is possible for them to dip their paws into the water. There is one thing very strange and remarkable of this creature, which is, that no man, either Christian or Indian, ever killed a she-bear with young. It is most certain that they hide themselves in the most secret places, otherwise the Indians, who constantly hunt in the woods and kill thousands of he-ones, would at some time or other have found them."-Bricknell's Natural History of North Carolina, p. 110.

The obscurity which so long prevailed respecting the gesta

tion of the bear, in consequence of the extreme caution which the female practises in selecting her retreat, has been in a great measure dissipated by the circumstance of the American black bear having bred in the Parisian menagerie. Gestation lasts seven months, and the young ones are brought forth in January; they are entirely grey, and without the white collar which characterizes the young of the Euporean brown bear. The period, therefore, which Aristotle has assigned to the latter species, of thirty days, is evidently erroneous.

With respect to the intellectual faculties of the bear, it has been stated by the naturalist who has been most happy in observations of this kind, that "prudence is the principal trait in the character of the bear; circumspection cannot be carried beyond the degree in which he manifests it: he recedes, whenever he is able, from everything unfamiliar to him; if he is compelled to approach it, he does it slowly, calling in aid all his methods of exploration, and he does not advance until he has become fully assured that the object of his alarm is without danger for him. It is not, however, resolution nor courage that he wants; he seems little susceptible of fear; he is not seen to fly; confident in himself, he resists a threatened injury, opposes force to force, and his rage as well as his exertions may become terrible if his life is threatened. But it is especially in defence of their young, that the female bears put forth all the resources of their muscular energies and of their courage: they throw themselves with fury upon every living creature that excites their alarm, and only cease to combat when they cease to exist.

"What adds in some measure to the merit of their prudence and courage is the singular extent of their intelligence, which seems to take away whatever of a blind mechanical character might be considered to appertain to their other qualities. We know the education which the bears receive from those men who get their living by leading these animals from town to town, and making them perform clumsy dances to the sound of a flageolet; and we can conceive that by means of chastisements and rewards, whilst the animal is compelled to assume the necessary attitudes, that they at length succeed in making him repeat them by word of command. It is by means of these associations that even the most stupid animals can in some degree be instructed. But we have witnessed in many species of bears an education, which was effected freely and by themselves, produce more remarkable results than the compulsatory tuition of which we before knew them to be susceptible. We have observed this in the bears which live in the pits of our menagerie, and are influenced only by the

public, who speak to them and give them dainties. Through the influence of these two means alone these animals have learnt to perform a number of exercises, which they repeat at the simple word of command, and under the sole expectation of being rewarded by a cake or an apple. Thus at the words mont' à l'arbre, they climb the trunk of the tree which is placed in their pit. If one says to them fais le beau, they know that they ought to lie down on their back, and bring together their four paws. At the word priez, they sit up erect and join their fore legs. At the word tourne, they pirouette upon their hind legs, &c."-F. Cuvier, Dict. des Sciences Nat.

It has been observed, that the black bears of America profit less by this sort of public education than their European congeners, and it is remarkable that the form of their head presents a less intellectual character.-The polar bear, to the particular history of which we shall now turn, presents a still less degree of docility and intelligence.

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 7 inches long, and weighing 1600lbs. 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."-Appendix to Parry's Second Voyage, p. 288.

With the exception of the naked end of the snout, the lips, the margins of the eyelids and the claws, the exterior of the polar bear presents at all seasons of the year an uniform white colour; a provision which renders its movements less easily distinguishable either by its enemies or its prey in the snowy regions destined for its habitual abode. The parts above mentioned are of a black colour; the lips have a purple tinge; the tongue is black, and the whole inside of the mouth is of a pale violet hue. As the polar bear advances in age it acquires a yellowish tint, and the forehead of the old animals is generally devoid of hair, and of a brown colour, a consequence of a remarkable habit this species has of rubbing that part of the head with a swinging circular motion against any hard perpendicular surface.