Bear Thoughts

Today, my husband and I were thinking about bears. They keep coming up in our conversations. John is watching The Revenant, which has one of the scariest bear scenes imaginable. “Come see this, Mary.” He called me into the den to watch a grizzly and Leonardo DiCaprio fight until one of them dies. It is an interesting scene—I don’t know why we enjoy so much conflict…John likes it better than I do.

Grizzly Bear, Pixabay 

It brought to mind the eight-foot-tall bear that stood a few feet from the van we were traveling in about twelve years ago. I was with a group on a mission trip to Lethbridge, Canada. It was fun day, when we crossed back into the United States to the Rocky Mountains National Park in Montana. We sat in line waiting to go through customs when the bear looked up at us from the berry bush where she was having lunch about fifteen feet away. Some of the teenaged guys ran over to get a closer look. They teased the bear, while I prayed with more earnestness that moment than I did the rest of the entire time on the mission trip. The bear just looked at us and went back to her berries. I suppose we didn’t smell as tasty as the berries.

My daughter Christie and her husband Brandt have recently returned from a trip to China. They

Panda Bear, Pixabay

enjoyed visiting the panda bears and brought back some fascinating pictures. They looked sweet, but no bears are sweet except toys.

Except for teddy bears, we don't need to move too close. 

In The Dream Bucket, Zoe had an encounter with a black bear. It scared me when I wrote it. Zoe was brave until she thought about it later.  Then she collapsed. 

The only encounter I’ve ever enjoyed with a bear was with the paisley bear I made Christie when she was a toddler. She still has it.

So what are bears good for? All the animals and plants of the earth are valuable to our ecology. Even if we don’t have a specific reason, all creatures great and small are vital to the well being of the planet.

Louisiana Black Bear, Pixabay

Recycling Facts Guide offers an excellent explanation:

Grizzly bears are terrestrial predators. This means that they affect the ecosystem from the top down. When they are no longer present in the ecosystem ungulate populations can grow out of control and alter the vegetation structure in an area. Another reason why Grizzly Bears are so important to the ecosystem is that they assist the vegetation by doing a lot of digging and foraging. This helps to mix up the nutrient level in the soil which helps to increase the ammonium and nitrate levels of the soil which helps other plants species. This helps the ecosystem where they live to be more biodiverse and have a more even equilibrium.

So why are Grizzlies important to the ecosystem? Really there are many reasons. One important reason is that the scientific community uses this type of bear as an indicator to determine the health of an ecosystem. A strong and flourishing Grizzly Bear population usually means a string and flourishing ecosystem with a thriving flora and fauna landscape

Source: https://www.recyclingfactsguide.com/grizzlies-ecosystem/