Posts tagged "grizzly bear"

Here's a pair that you wouldn't expect to see together. Both intimidating presences in the wild, it's not as if grizzlies and wolves are compatriots of the forest. But boundaries get broken through the innocence of childhood, so these two cubs became BFFs in captivity. It's cute to watch them play, but it's all bittersweet knowing their friendship could never last. Or could it? Watch and see.

"He seems like such a kind-hearted bear."
"He'd probably tear us to shreds if he had the chance."
"Yeah, you're probably right."

These people are right. We've covered this before but we really can't stress it enough: Bears are not to be trifled with. Don't be fooled by how fuzzy and cute and cuddly they appear; they will eat your head if you get close enough. Do you think this bear doesn't know exactly what it's doing when it waves hello to you adorably? It wants you to think, "Hey, this bear understands me! He gets me! He's just like me. He's not so bad. He's my friend. He's Winnie the Pooh. Silly old bear. I'm gonna rub his tum-tum." Congratulations, you just got your head eaten by a bear. The point is that when it comes to bears, enjoy them, but enjoy them from a distance.

But these folks are right about something else as well: You can love an animal even if it wants nothing more than to devour your sweet, sweet head meat. We love you too, Mr. Kodiak Bear.

Talk about bearing witness!

An 800 pound grizzly bear named Brutus served as best man in naturalist Casey Anderson's 2008 wedding to actress Missi Pyle. But this was not a stunt for pun's sake; Anderson calls Brutus his best friend, even telling Good Morning America, "He gives me unconditional love."

Expedition Grizzly, a new documentary airing on National Geographic on Sunday, May 3^rd at 9pm EST, captures Anderson living among the bears of Yellowstone National Park, charting their lives and man's impact on their environment.

Anderson first befriended the bear in 2002 when young Brutus' wildlife park became overpopulated. Before the cub had to face a lose-lose fate of captivity or death, Anderson adopted him and opened a sanctuary so Brutus could "act like a real bear."

Of course, "real bears" don't usually eat at kitchen tables and swim in lap pools. But according to Anderson, they do experience human-level emotions, sometimes even shedding tears. Anderson's relationship with his furry surrogate son spawned his mission to dispel false "man eater" stereotypes about Grizzlies.

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