The polar and tropical worlds : a description of man and nature in the polar and equatorial regions of the globe . r snuffing about the place for a few minutes, scrapedthe snow away with his paw, threw the rope aside, and escaped unhurt withhis prize. The she-bear is taught by a wonderful instinct to shelter her young underthe snow. Towards the month of December she retreats to the side of a rock,where, by dint of scraping and allowing the snow to fall upon her, she fomis acell in wliich to reside during the winter. There is no fear that she should bestifled for want of air, for the warmth of
The polar and tropical worlds : a description of man and nature in the polar and equatorial regions of the globe . r snuffing about the place for a few minutes, scrapedthe snow away with his paw, threw the rope aside, and escaped unhurt withhis prize. The she-bear is taught by a wonderful instinct to shelter her young underthe snow. Towards the month of December she retreats to the side of a rock,where, by dint of scraping and allowing the snow to fall upon her, she fomis acell in wliich to reside during the winter. There is no fear that she should bestifled for want of air, for the warmth of her breath always keeps a small pas-sage open, and the snoAV, instead of forming a thick uniform sheet, is brokenby a little hole, round which is collected a mass of glittering hoar-frost, causedby the congelation of the breath. Within this strange nursery she producesher young, and remains with them beneath the snow \intil the month of March,when she emerges into the open air with her baby bears. As the time passeson, the breath of the family, together with the warmth exhaled from their 6 66 THE POLAR HOME OF THE POLAK BEAR. bodies, serves to enlari^e the cell, so that with their increasing dimensions theacconunodation is increased to suit them. As the only use of the snow-burrowis to shelter the young, the male bears do not hibernate like the females, butroam freely about during the winter months. Before retiring under the snow,the bear eats enormously, and, driven by an unfailing instinct, resorts to themost nutritious diet, so that she becomes prodigiously fat, thus laying in an in-ternal store of alimentary matter whicli enables her not only to support herown life, but to suckle her young during her long seclusion, without taking amorsel of food. liy an admirable provision of nature, the young arc of won-derfully small dimensions when compared with the parent; and as their growth,as long as they remain confined in their crystal nursery, is remarkably slow,they cons
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, books, booksubjectnaturalhistory
