The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-01-01
Polar Bears.

The pred ecessor of the ''big bear'' at the
Zoo lived thirty-six years in Regents Park,
an age which is very seldom reached by any
creature in captivity, except the half-do-
mesticated elephant1 and the Indian rhl-
noceros. size and longevity seem closely
related in the conditions of animal exis-
tence; and the polar bear is far the largest
of the great arnivora, and by consequence
lives to a much greater age than the lion or
tiger. When In it's prime. the Ursa major OF
the Zoo must have weighed at least three
quarters of a ton, and it's companion,
though female. grows at a rate which
promises before long to bring it to nearly
the same bulk. This is about the weight of
a large English dray-horse. Possibly the
regular food-snpply and warm climate
which the captive bears enjoy may increase
their size: but Capt. Lymon mentions that
he shot one which measured feet inches
in length, and weighed no less than 1850
pounds.
The body OF this bear. unlike the felidae.
is rounded like barrel, and though its
limbs are long and it stands high, its bulk
is more in proportion to that Of the OK or
the elephant than to the more slender forms
of the true carnivora. AS the average
weight OLA large lion is so pounds, and Of
large tiger $50 pounds, the offensive power
of the polar bear must greatly exceed that
of either. if it's muscular strength and ac-
tivity are in proportion to its size. In some
respects Its powers of movement exceed
those Of the great cats. 1t can maintain
gallop at a pace equal to that of fast
horse. leap wide CULTS with ease, swim fast
enough to catch salmon, and die like a
r. la
had for some time rarely entered it's bath;
hut the aquatic feats of its younger part
ner are thus described in chapter on
LONDON Bears in Mr.. G. j. Cornish's re-
Gently published work, Life at the Zoo':"
Fresh water is let into their bath two or
three times a week. and as soon as the bot
tom is covered. the younger bear rolls in
and cuts capers,' to use the keepers
phrase. She always prefers to take "a head
e1.' but not after the orthodox fashion; for
when her nose touches the bottom, she
turns a somersault slowly, and then floats
to the surface on her back. Then she
climbs out, shakes herself. and gallops
round the edge of the bath. In spite OF
her bulk, this bear is as active as cat, and
an go at speed round the circle without
pausing or missing a step. Her next object
IL 10 IIuu bouetuiuS " pay VII Ii III Jue
water. Anything will do; but if nothing
else is ha nd., she usually produces a nasty
bit of stale fish. which she seems to keep
hidden in some handy place, and dives for
it. coming up to the surface with the :.sh
balancing on her nose. or on all four paws
If the water is still running in. she will lie
under the spout and let it run through her
jaws. But the most amusing game which
the writer has seen was played with large
round ston After knocking it into the
watera nd jumping in to fish it out, she took
1t in her mouth. and tried to push 1t into the
hole from which the water was still run
ming. This Was difficult matter, for the
stone was as large tennis ball, and
the pipe was not much wider. Several
times the stone dropped out, though the
bear held it delfcatsly between her lips, and
tried TO push it in with her tongue. At
last she sat up. and holding the stone be-
tween her fore-paws pnt it ur to the pipe,
and pushed it i'll with her nose. This was a
great triumph. and she retired and contem-
plated the result with much satisfaction.