POLAR BEAR AND CUBS. - This presents a scene at sunrise in the frozen regions of the north. The mother Polar Bear and her Cubs are on ; great ice floe, above which the Sea Gulls hover, envious of the ursine family, which have secured a Seal for breakfast. The mother has begun her meal: the little ones are not yet accustomed to a meat diet, but are about to try it. The picture well brings out the physical characteristics of the an particularly the shaggy fur covering the body and legs, as well as the powerful paws of the larger animal (Ursus maritimus.)
Date 1895
Source http://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/6220163647
Author Alfred Edmund Brehm; Wilhelm Haacke; Eduard Pechuël-Loesch; Richard Schmidtlein.
Full title Brehm's Life of animals : a complete natural history for popular home instruction and for the use of schools.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brehm%27s_Life_of_animals_(Page_257)_(6220163647).jpg
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a carnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice and open water, and for hunting seals, which make up most of its diet. |
