loats upon icebergs and drifts; or, if need
be, takes to the open water, where he can swim with almost the facility
of a fish.

A proof of his natatory powers is found in the fact that Arctic voyagers
have observed him swimming about in the open sea full twenty miles from
the nearest land! He is equally expert as a diver; and uses this art
for the purpose of capturing various kinds of marine animals, upon which
he subsists. In regard to food, the Polar bear differs altogether from
his congeners. He is almost wholly carnivorous in his habits. Indeed,
were it otherwise, he could not exist in his icy kingdom--in many parts
of which not a trace of vegetation is to be found. Fish of many kinds,
birds, and their eggs, and four-footed beasts--when he can lay his claws
upon them--all are welcome to his palate. Nor will he disdain to feast
upon the carcass of the great whale--when chance, or the whale
fishermen, leaves such a provender in his way. The seal is a particular
favourite with him, and he hunts this creature with skill and assiduity.
When he perceives the seal basking upon a ledge of ice, he slips
quietly into the water, and swims to leeward of his intended victim. He
approaches by frequent short dives--so calculating his distance, that at
the last he comes up close to the spot where the seal is lying. Should
the victim attempt to escape, by rolling into the water, it falls into
the bear's clutches: if, on the contrary, it lies still, the bear makes
a powerful spring, seizes it on the ice, and then kills and devours it
at his leisure.

In swimming, the Polar bear not only moves rapidly through the water,
but is also capable of darting forward in such a way as to seize a fish
before it can escape beyond reach. On the land, also, he can move with
rapidity--his slouching trot being almost as fast as the gallop of a
horse.

Individuals have been shot that weighed as much as 1600 pounds!

Polar bears are found along the shores of the Arctic Ocean, both in Asia
and America. They do not go to sleep in winter--that is, the males do
not. The females with young, however, bury themselves in the snow--
having formed a lair--and there remain until they bring forth their
young. The cubs are often captured in these snow caves, which the
Esquimaux discover by means of dogs trained for this peculiar purpose.

The _Grizzly bear_ next merits attention. This formidable animal was,
for a long time, supposed to be a varie