Bears Just Wanna Have Fun

on Saturday, September 29, 2007

I know I have been giving bears a hard time on my blog recently but the truth is that bears like anyone else should not be stereotyped. For all the good and gentle bears out there, I offer this as proof that not all bears are big and bad.





41 comments:

meggie said...

LGS, thank you for posting this!! I really thrilled me to see, & gave me a good feeling to begin my day!
As you know, I love dogs, & Polar bears fascinate me. I stood & watched the Polar bear in the Singapore Zoo for a very long time. I felt sorry it was in captivity, but it seemed happy diving for fish.

riseoutofme said...

LGS ... no freezing of computer this time!

Wonderful, heartwarming post!

Just last night I watched a documentary about the Bear man of Kamakatje (not sure of the spelling).... also a Canadian, who adopts orphaned bear cubs, rears them until they are about 18 months and then releases them into the wild. Amazing.

I think we greatly underestimate all living creatures ability to co-exist...

Janice Thomson said...

I absolutely loved this Lgs. I have seen many grizzly and black bears play (not with a dog though)...they are one of nature's most playful creatures, even when full grown, next to the otter. Thanks for posting this - it brought back some long forgotten memories.

tsduff said...

I'm rather partial to bears - as I live with one. :) His name (Bjarni) means bear in Icelandic, and his other name Bernard means bear as well. He fits the part. Cool post.

Open Grove Claudia said...

How cute! BUT, have you ever seen what a bear can do to a beehive??? Hrm...

Leslie: said...

This is incredible - I am open-mouthed in awe and wish I could have seen it with my own eyes. Thanks for educating us about this incident.

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

meggie,
Always happy to help make our day start well. I'm still cautious of bears but can you imagine playing with one.....almost a child's dream.

riseoutofme,
There does seem to be some evidence that bears and men can co-exist as in that documentary you mentioned. I know of another similar story of a Canadian in Siberia. However, there is also one case where the naturalist was attacked and killed even though he had successfully approached the bears before.

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

janice,
My pleasure. I envy you for having seen this play behavior of the bears with your own eyes.

tsduff,
My! You certainly like your BEARS! lol.

claudia,
Have they ever raided you hives?

leslie,
It is hard to believe, isn't it? Mind you, I would still treat an advancing bear as a hostile one and not a playful one if I was there!

heartinsanfrancisco said...

Wow. Lovely, lovely pictures.

The more I know of animals, the more I realize that the human animal has the most trouble living peaceably with others.

Thank you for sharing this delightful video.

MedStudentWife said...

WOW - Guess it shows that PLAY is important no matter who or what you are, and everyone needs a friend sometimes, even if just for awhile.

Thanks for sharing LGS :D

(Bears and Squirrels... UNITE !!!!)

geewits said...

That was sweet and cute and reminded me of my cats playing, but no matter what that dude says, bears will always scare the bejeezus out of me but not as much as crocodiles and alligators. (I think that should win an award for the worst run-on sentence.)

heiresschild said...

they may not all be big and bad, but i sure wouldn't want to meet one face-to-face (well, except for in the zoo).

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

hearts,
living in peace. Such a simple concept yet so difficult for man to achieve, sadly.

msw,
We can find friends when we least expect it and perhaps among some who might surprise us.

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

geewits,
I too will not be seen anytime soon next to a bear and I have no wish at all to "play" with a gator!

sylvia,
...but wouldn't it have been neat to see the bear and dog play before our own eyes?

Jocelyn said...

What with their ice masses shrinking, polar bears have had to change their tune--time to start sucking up and being nice, in the hopes that the huskies will let them move into the dog kennel with them when the ice is all gone.

Jo said...

LGS, that was truly one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Thank you for sharing that with us. I hadn't even heard of it. What absolutely beautiful pictures!

Anonymous said...

Hey, that's like my main theme in most of my nature writint. That no animal should be stereotyped. Whether we like what they do or not, consider them "cute" or not, they have a purpose in their own ecosystem. That also jives with your theory on relativity.

How's about that!

-P

Jay said...

That's sweet, but I still think I'd keep my distance.

Marja said...

This was truly amazing and heart warming. Seeing the soft site of such a powerfull creature. Thanks for sharing

Gina said...

oh that was Beary nice! Still not going to pet one at the zoo!

StayAtHomeKat said...

I HAD HEARD AND SEEN THIS LONG AGO AND IT WAS WONDERFUL THEN AND WONDERFUL NOW AND THANK YOU FOR REMINDING EVERYONE THAT THE NATURAL WORLD IS NOT ALL ABOUT FANG AND CLAW

Dave said...

Bears are certainly a thrill to see in the wilderness. I cannot "bear" to see them in captivity. I had a friend from England take a trip to Churchill Manitoba to go on a bear hunt where you shoot the bears with cameras... It was an experience that he will never forget.

Odat said...

`wow....what an inspiring thing to watch....thank you for sharing that!
Peace

Gledwood said...

Wow I have never seen anything like that before!

Howzit going?!?! I mentioned you (indirectly) today on my blog... you appear in purple "Malaysia" (was it you appearing on my blog? I don't know...)

Andre said...

I guess this puts an end to the stereotype that all bears go around the park stealing pic-a-nic baskets too.

Awesome post LGS!

molly said...

On borrowed time here at the library.....but wanted to tell you to see if you can find a u-tube clip titled Squirrel Obstacle Course. I have no idea how to up-load, down-load, whatever load is required, but you would definitely enjoy it. Might give you ideas for your daily fitness regimen! Now I'm off to watch your bears.....

Claire said...

Very cool. I have to wonder if it was a young bear and otherwise well-fed. You know darn well if it had been a hungry bear, that husky would be history.

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

jocelyn,
I hadn't realise that polar bears planned so well for their future. LoL. Still think they would prefer to chow down on dog instead of.yechh, dog food.

josie,
You're welcome.

proxima,
Thank you for pointing that out. I didn't realise I was being so philosophical but then again I seldom think! :)

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

jay,
Unlike you, I'd like to be real close to observe this behavior (but safe inside a 5-star secure anti-bear facility). :) .....or maybe just on TV!

marja,
May we all see the soft side of all the bears we meet in life!

gina,
How are you going to blog after losing your arm for trying to pet a polar bear?

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

gina,
Please do not pet bears.

kat,
Not "fang and claw" but "tag and paw"?

dave,
I would love to go to Churchill to do just that.

odat,
May peace of bear and dog help us all to have peace in our lives.

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

gledwood,
I certainly lurk more often than I comment at your blog so am guilty of being a major contributor to your Malaysian visitor count. Peace brother.

andre,
The bears tell me they are not stealing picnic baskets but just levying a tax for visiting their wilderness. Actually they said, "Feed me or else!" Or else what, I wonder?

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

molly,
i know the clip of which you speak. I will try to re-discover it and post it for you.

claire,
while I am unable to tell you precisely if the bear was full or not, it was on its way to the newly formed pack ice to go seal hunting. Theoretically, it should have been hungry as it would have had little to eat in the last 2-3 months.

Sarah Nopp said...

so... how broken up that Beyonce isn't doing a show in Kuala Lampur?

Nadiyya said...

Haha, wonderful post, and very close to reality for me,,, right under the North Pole ;)

CS said...

That is just amazing. I think we could all take a lesson from this

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

sarah,
It may surprise you but I am not a big fan of Beyonce so no ripples in my corner but no doubt many Malaysian fans are disappointed.

nadiyya,
What do you do for fun on a ship?

cs,
I am sure that there is a lesson to be learnt but I should also add the caution of "Do not try this at home"

geewits said...

I thought of you when I saw all that Beyonce stuff. I also thought of you when I heard about National Squirrel Awareness week.

http://www.scarysquirrel.org/special/nsaw/index.html

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

geewits,
The media in Malaysia barely covered the Beyonce story, so it wasn't really hyped up in malaysia. Most Malaysians would disagree witht he position of the authorities but also are resigned to the fact that the authorities are quite immovable on issues like these. On a funnier note, this squirrel was not aware that it was National Squirrel Awareness week!

Anonymous said...

Cool photos. Their coats are beautiful!

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

jessica,
Thanks for coming by and leaving a comment. They are beautiful animals, aren't they?

tsduff said...

LGS - You know, Bears are people too :)

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