The "whight bare" circa 1735

[Joel S. Berson]

Definitely a polar bear (Ursus maritimus).  In the newspapers it was
called "Ursa Major, or the great White Bear."*  See New York Gazette,
16 April 1733; and Boston Weekly News-Letter, 19 April 1733, where it
inserted a farewell address that includes gratitude for the
hospitality and considerate care it has received from New-Englanders.

* 1733 is (barely) pre-Linneaus.

Joel

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