Bears consistently hold a unique appeal and significance in our lives.
Bears are known as ferocious animals with terrible strength from their giant claws. However, their attraction to humans is still very great. They even appear a lot on famous TV series. Let’s take a look at some interesting information about bears through the article below.
- Kermode Bear – The spirit bear
One thing that people often do not know is that not all bears classified as black bears are black. Bears with brown, cinnamon, or yellow fur are also categorized as black bears. On the West Coast of the United States, particularly in Yosemite National Park in California, black bears represent only a tiny fraction. But only in British Columbia, Canada, can we find this kind of bear – a black bear but the fur is almost white. Many people mistake them for stray polar bears, but they are not. This is a North American black bear, called the Kermode bear or spirit bear, and they are highly respected by the indigenous people here. They never hunt them or reveal their location to hunters. Today, the number of Kermode bears is only about 1,000 and only 1 is being raised in a park in British Columbia, Canada.
- Bear meat
Most people do not hunt bears for meat, but eating bears has happened in the world. In 2010, a rare incident happened in Azerbaijan, when Anar Mammadov, after being drunk, ordered a restaurant to slaughter and grill bear meat for him and his friends to eat. Because Anar was the son of a high-ranking official, the restaurant staff could not bear to refuse, but they offered $1 million for this special dish. Mammadov was expected to give up, but with his family’s huge fortune, he was willing to pay for the entire meal. And the next morning, after sobering up, Mammadov had to pay a huge bill for his strange meal.
- Bear wrestling
A few years ago, bear wrestling was a sport that was no longer too strange in festivals or sporting events around the world. Bears participating in the wrestling were often gagged and had their claws covered to avoid danger. The prize would be awarded if the wrestler could pin the bear down for a certain period of time.
Bear wrestling also appeared in a Will Ferrell movie: Semi-Pro. Rocky, the 5-year-old bear in the movie, killed his own trainer in 2008. The unfortunate man had his throat torn out after deliberately provoking Rocky. In the movie, the bear scenes were all performed by stuntmen because of the extremely dangerous nature of this sport.
- Bears in Africa
Bears can be found all over the world, except in Africa. However, at one point, experts in this region classified a species of bear native to Africa, known as the Atlas bear. These bears primarily inhabited Northern Africa, particularly the Atlas Mountains. However, no one has ever seen this species of bear and it is believed that the last ones were killed in the 1870s. It is possible that the number of these Atlas bears gradually decreased seriously during the time of the Roman Empire. During that time, thousands of animals were used for fighting, especially in the Roman arenas, which almost made the bear extinct.
- People and bears
Perhaps among the strangest pets in the world, bears are also in a certain rank. Many people would not think of raising a bear in their home, but Doug Seus is different. As an expert, he owns many different bears and has participated in many famous movies. Bart is his proud bear, nearly 3m tall and weighing nearly 700kg. Before his death, he had acted in about 11 movies including The Great Outdoors, The Edge and Legends of the Fall. Currently, Seus’s latest bear has appeared in the series CSI and Game of Thrones. It seems that Doug Seus has been very successful in raising bears, but this is inherently a dangerous job. James Adams was also an animal trainer who died while trying to tame a bear. Timothy Treadwell, who spent 13 years living with grizzly bears in Katmai National Park in Alaska, was also killed by a bear.
- Bears in India
In India, bears like the sloth bear and black bear are frequently housed alongside tigers. This might explain why they are considered the most aggressive bears in the world. In 1957, a sloth bear went on a rampage in the Indian state of Mysore, killing at least 12 people and severely injuring many others. Survivors often suffered disfigurement, with their faces torn off. Similarly, black bears in India are equally aggressive. In 2009, four Muslims were hiding in a cave near the Kashmir region when they encountered a large black bear. Although they were armed with AK-47 rifles, two of the men were killed and a third was injured. Not only that, in May 2013, several bears attacked a village in the state of Orissa, killing eight people before being completely subdued.
- Polar Bears
Although they only make up a small proportion, polar bears are arguably the largest species in the bear family. With their large appearance, many people think they can be very aggressive and destructive, but that’s not the case at all. They are very gentle and sometimes play with other species. Completely different from grizzly bears. Grizzly bears have giant claws like polar bears, but their strength is limitless. Someone once witnessed a grizzly bear smashing the skull of a bison with just one bite. When two grizzly bears fight, one usually dies, but polar bears often surrender and do not want to fight.
- Admiralty Island
Located in southeast Alaska, near the city of Juneau, Admiralty Island is a deserted island with an extremely rich ecosystem, with a total area of over 4,100 square kilometers. This seems to be a paradise for those who want to explore new lands, or camp here. But before doing that, please refer to the following information. Admiralty Island is also known as the home of North American brown bears with a density of about 1 per square meter. If you really want to explore the forests here, it is best to go with an experienced guide.
- “Vodka” Bears
A rare event occurred in Ukraine in 2012. When the Euro football tournament opened in this country, a series of bears were brought into restaurants for entertainment. In particular, they were forced to drink Vodka with slogans like: drink Vodka, watch “Russian Bears” play football to market and attract customers to the store. Immediately, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Ukraine, Mykola Zlochevsky, intervened and ordered the release of these Vodka bears back into the wild.
- Teddy Bear
Teddy bears are not too strange to everyone, especially children. But few people know the story of this teddy bear. It originated from the story of former US President Theodore Roosevelt hunting bears. Because he could not find any, his guide caught a baby bear and tied it to a tree. And Roosevelt could not shoot it because it was too cruel, which reinforced the people’s belief in a President full of love and compassion. So an animated film was born about the President and a bear named Teddy. The film has an influence to this day when Teddy bears are still selling very well.
It is a touching story but the truth is not entirely like that. At that time, he went with his guide Holt Collier, an African American who had killed thousands of bears before. Collier even killed a large black bear just because it killed one of his dogs. Collier wanted to make it easier for the President to shoot the bear, so he beat it very badly. And when Rossvelt arrived at the scene, the bear was already half dead. And with a group of journalists behind him, this was a golden opportunity for Rossvelt to strengthen his confidence and impress the American people. He refused to shoot the bear, but after they returned, another member of the group killed it.
