It is interesting to notice that those
creatures whose home is in the far north are clad in grey or white, for
animals which are hunted either as prey or for the sake of their fur, often
take the colour of the ground, whether it be covered with snow, as in the
Arctic regions, or brake and heather, as upon the moors and furzy coverts
where our own hares and foxes hide.
Now we come to the bears, which are found all the world over except in
Africa. The Brown bear, which is a peaceable creature, feeding on honey or
fruits, is still met with in the Alps and Pyrenees, as well as in the north
of Europe, but it has not lived in England since before the Conquest, at a
time when wolves were quite common with us; especially in Wales.
The Grizzly bear is a very different animal; its home is in North America,
and it will hunt down a man with such determination that it is very much
dreaded by the fur-hunters. The white or Polar bear belongs entirely to
the Arctic regions, so that I have often wondered that the great creature
which looks so innocent as it dives for the bread which is thrown to it by
visitors at the Gardens, or plays with its ball in the water, does not die
during our hot summer months. I have heard that the reason why the soles
of its feet are so hairy is because in its northern home it is constantly
travelling over icefields, sometimes climbing the lofty bergs--and the
long hair prevents it from slipping.
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