URSUS, the bear, in natural history, a genus of Mammalia, of the order Fem. Generic character; six front teeth both above and below, the two lateral ones of the lower jaw lobed, and longer than the others, with smaller or secondary teeth at the internal bases ; tusks solitary ; five or six grinders on each side, the first ap proaching the tusks ; tongue smooth; snout prominent ; eyes furnished with a nictitating membrane. There are ten species.
U. arctos, the brown bear, is met with in almost all the northern territories of Europe and Asia, and lives solitary in re mote forests, subsisting principally on fruits and other vegetable substances, and occasionally devouring animals. It is par ticularly fond of honey, and is said to pos sess great sagacity in discovering it ; and will ascend high trees to obtain it. It frequently resides in the hollows of trees, and sometimes fixes its habitation in the banks of rivers, for the sake offish, which it sometimes takes and devours. To wards the close of autumn, it retires to its habitation in a state highly fleshy and fat, and remains for weeks together with out food, and almost without motion. The female withdraws to the most ob scure recesses at the same time, to pro' duce her young, which are in general no more than two, extremely small, and in form little resembling the future full grown animal. During the first month these are blind ; for four months they are attended by the dam with such vigilance and tenderness, that she almost abstains from her own necessary nourishment. After a certain period, the female returns to the den of the male with her young, which it was necessary for a time to se crete from him, lest he should devour them; and in spring they quit their ca. vern, and range with great voracity, after their long confinement, in pursuit of fbod.* They will climb trees with' great alacrity, and strip them almost com pletely of their fruit. The date tree is a particular favourite with them. These animals are often taken young, and sub-' duel to a great degree of tameness and docility, and taught a variety of tricks and dances : but the discipline of is applied to produce these effects ; and the extreme cruelty requisite to accom plish these creatures for the usual exhi bitions they are instructed to make, are a disgrace to civilized society, and worthy of the interference of legislation. Bears were formerly common in Greece ; and even in this country they once existed, j and were guarded with jealousy by the forest laws, as beasts of chace ; and after their extermination they were imported for the diversion of baiting them, which was an entertainment displayed in honour of nobles and princes. They were ex hibited, from Afiica, in the grand specta cles at Rome. See Mammalia,' Plate XXI. fig. 4.
U. Americantis, or the American bear, has a long pointed nose, and is generally smaller than the above species. It a bounds in the northern territories or America, and is said to live exclusively on vegetable food, extreme hunger only being able to induce it to eat the flesh of animals. These bears reside in trees, . mounting and descending them with great alertness. Their skins form an im portant article of merchandize ; their flesh, when young, is thought delicious ; and their fat is thought an admirable ap plication for sprains and bruises. They are taken frequently by setting fire to the trees which they inhabit.
U. maritimus, or the Polar bear, is near ly double the.size of the common bear; „ and is stated to have been seen of the length of twelve feet. It is completely white. Its principal residence is on the shores of Greenland and Hudson's Bay, and it inhabits only the coldest regions of the world. It possesses the most formi
dable strength and ferocity. The sailors of Barentz, in his voyage in quest of a north-east passage to China, were as saulted in their boat by these animals, carried off, and devoured within the view of their companions. They will attempt to board armed ships, and, defying every obstacle with the most fearless energy, have sometimes only with the greatest difficulty been prevented. They subsist on fishes, seals, and whales, at sea ; and by land devour birds, hares, deer, and va rious other animals ; and will also eat berries and various other vegetables. In Greenland they sometimes surround the habitations of the natives, allured by the strong smell of the seal oil, and attempt to break through to commit their depre dations ; but are reported to be effectual ly repelled by the smell of burnt feathers. In winter they ingulph th.n,5elv es in the snow, or immure themselves in some ca vern, where they pass in torpor the Polar night, making their egress only with the re-appearance of the sun in summer they are often found on large masses of floating ice at sea, and, swimming with great excellence, they pass from one of these to another with much facility ; they are sometimes, however, carried to vast distances from land, and perish for want of the means of subsistence. They produce generally two young ones at a birth, and the attachment between these and the dam is one of the strongest exhi bited in the whole animal creation. The natives of Kamtschatka always avoid fir ing at a young bear if the dam be present, as the rage of the latter to revenge the injury is active and unbounded, and she miles to the spot from which the attack was made with almost irresistible rapidi ty and fury : she, moreover, deplores the destruction of her cubs by sounds and ges ticulation, indicating the most violent and heart-rending sorrow, folding them, though lifeless, to her bosom, attempting to recover them back to animation, and continuing byth em long after the last spark of life has been extinguished in them. The fondness of the young for the parent is little less strong and impressive. These creatures are hunted by the natives of Kamtschatka with great skill, intrepidity, and success : if the bear should not in stantly fall by a musket-bot, or be dis abled from running, he rushes towards his antagonist, animated with the completely spirit of vengeance ; and, should he not, in this instant, be received upon the spear, which is dexterously prepared to transfix him at the critical moment, the death of the hunter is almost the certain and immediate consequence. Fatal re sults unfrequently attended the sportsmen in these conflicts. These ani mals have considerable sagacity, and are stated, upon respectable authority, to ascend rocks with extreme caution, to avoid the observance of a herd of bareins, feeding beneath, and which, on account of the speed of the latter, they could not openly approach : from these summits, however, they will loosen and roll down large stones, and thus destroy or mutilate their prey beneath, descending after wards to enjoy the rich reward of their stratagem and toil. The inhabitants of Kamtschatka are reported to pride them selves in imitating the movements of the bears in their dances, and to acknowledge themselves hig;lily indebted to them for the application of various simples for wounds and diseases. The morse is one of the most formidable enemies of the bear, and generally triumphs from the advan tage of its lengthened and formidable tusks. See Mammalia, Plate XXI. fig. 5.