One of the first things that we notice on looking at a polar bear is the small size of its head and the length of its neck. This, no doubt, is to help it in swimming; for if it had a head as big as that of an ordinary bear it would find it very much harder to force its way through the water. And of course it must be able to swim well, for otherwise it could never catch the porpoises and fishes upon which it feeds. We notice, too, the huge size of its paws, which are nearly eighteen inches long, and very broad as well. These form most excellent paddles, while the thick fur is so oily that it quite prevents the icy water from coming into contact with the skin. The bear is very fond of feeding upon seals as well as upon porpoises and fishes. But these are so active in the water that it seldom attempts to chase them, preferring to creep quietly up to them as they lie sleeping on the ice. Then it kills them with one stroke of its terrible paw. Sometimes, too, it is said to prey upon the walrus, crushing in its skull by a series of tremendous blows before it can shuffle off the ice into the sea. The feet of the polar bear are specially suited for traveling over the ice, for the soles are covered with long, thick hairs, which give it a firm foothold, and at the same time prevent it from feeling the cold of the frozen surface. The young of these bears are born and brought up in a kind of nursery under the snow, which is so warm and snug that they do not feel the cold at all. Here they live with their mother until the snow melts at the return of warmer weather, and then for some months father, mother, and cubs all wander about together. Polar bears sometimes live for a very long time in captivity. One of these animals lived in the London Zoo for thirty-four years, and another for thirty-three. The former of these once gave the keepers a terrible fright, for early one morning he managed to climb out of his enclosure, and when they found him he was just setting off on a journey of discovery into the Regent's Park. After a good deal of trouble they got him back, and altered his enclosure in such a way that he could never make his escape again. THE BROWN BEAR OF EUROPE AND ASIA This bear is found in most parts of Europe, and also throughout almost the whole of Asia north of the Himalayas. In former days it was not uncommon even in England, and in the time of Edward the Confessor the city of Norwich was obliged to kill a bear every year and send its body to the king. These bears are found in wooded, hilly districts, often ascending to considerable heights in the mountains. In some parts of Asia they make regular tracks through the forest, in the form of pathways about two feet wide; and it is said that these tracks sometimes run for hundreds of miles. They are solitary animals, and it is not often that even a pair are seen together. But for several months after they are born the cubs go about with their mother.