White bears are seldom seen in numbers except where the carcases of whales have been left to rot by the whalers; and generally these animals go about in pairs, accompanied by one or two cubs, which the female will defend with her life. Only when driven by hunger will the white bear venture to attack human beings. Sealers, who were formerly much afraid of them, nowadays attack the bears armed only with lances, and kill large numbers. In the far north white bears disappear for the most part during the long Arctic winter, and it is believed that many hibernate, especially as they have occasionally been found in holes. In the winter lair the female gives birth to her tiny, short-haired, and blind cubs, which are usually one or two in number, although triplets occasionally occur. THE MANDRILL (_Maimon mormon_) The mandrill is a highly specialised and at the same time extremely hideous West African representative of the dog-faced baboons, nearly all of which are confined to Africa south of the Sahara, although one species is a native of southern Arabia. All these baboons have the long straight muzzles from which the group derives its name, and all except the subject of the accompanying Plate are more or less uniformly coloured animals, with, in most cases, comparatively long tails. The mandrill and its ally and compatriot the drill are, however, distinguished from all their relatives by the reduction of the tail to a mere stump; while old males of the former are further characterised by the presence of large fluted swellings on the sides of the muzzle and the brilliant colouring of these and the other bare parts in this region, while a nearly equal brilliancy is developed in the naked patches on the rump. To the female mandrill, who, as shown in the Plate, lacks the nasal swellings and brilliant hues of her lord and master, this style of decoration may, and probably does, appear beautiful, but to ourselves it is simply hideous and repulsive, as are the manners and ways of this monstrous ape. The nature of the colouring of the old males is sufficiently indicated in the coloured Plate; but it may be mentioned that the scarlet area on the muzzle has the appearance of vermilion sealing-wax, while the ultramarine of the lateral swellings is suffused in the flutings with shades of violet, more especially when the animal is under the influence of excitement. Indeed, when in this condition, all the colours are intensified and heightened. In size the male mandrill may be compared to a short-bodied mastiff, while in strength and ferocity it has few equals, so that it is rightly dreaded by all the natives of West Africa. The female is a much smaller and much less powerful animal.