40 POPULAR SCRIPTURE ZOOLOGY,

Oxpze CARNIVORA.

Unsus.—The Bear. (Plate I., the Syrian Bear.)

These well-known animals are remarkable for their
massive limbs, and clumsy, heavy appearance. They have
five-toed feet, armed with strong claws, more calculated for
digging in the ground and climbing trees than for tearing
their prey. They are omnivorous in their diet, some
living entirely on vegetable food ; others being carnivorous :
though they will rarely attack man, unless extremely pressed
by hunger, when they are very formidable antagonists.
Honey is said to be a favourite repast with many species,
and they will climb high trees for the sake of plundering
the nest of the wild bee ; they also eat the eggs and young
of birds, small animals, carrion, and fish, as in the case of
the polar bear, who must depend chiefly on what is thrown
up by the sea for his somewhat precarious subsistence.
From the peculiar formation of the shoulder-bones, which
are not kept apart by clavicles as in most other animals,
the bear is enabled to grasp and hug between the fore legs,
much more powerfully than would have otherwise been the
case, thus strangling any unfortunate animal that falls into
its power by strong compression of the chest ; this peculiarity