Listening to bears has shown us this…

Hi friends, for some reason, I have been thinking a lot about bears lately.

The opportunity to learn from bears about who they are has given me a feeling of responsibility to pass on to others what bears have been willing to share with me. And it’s not just me, as bears have courageously revealed their deepest mysteries to those who are simply willing to listen.

Bears are a part of an sophisticated and evolved society that we’re just starting to understand. They are not the antisocial loners that we have been taught they are, but instead bears have culture, a sense of community and deep traditional values that they pass on to their offspring with great care. Bears have shown me to have evolved social relationships with others and at times people.

They have a depth of communications second to none. Perhaps this why Jane Goodall called them the “Great Apes of the North”? Bears are honest, pure and prefer to be peaceful in their intentions. Once rules are established, bears do well in overlapping homes ranges, and even seek out human communities for social reasons such as safety.

Bears hold within themselves a solid moral code. They have an evolved a sense of justice, punishment, relationship, and an incredible willingness to share with others. Communication by bears comes easily and with it extreme clarity. If we listen, they don’t mince “words”. Physically, they use facial expressions and body language, but vocally they have a range of evolved audible noises that they use to communicate hate, fear, submission and love with one another. They read intentions better than any animal I know and their emotional intelligence is beyond anything I have ever seen. They have successfully communicated with others for millions of years and are always willing to live with those they trust.

Here’s the rub, “…are we willing to live with them”? So far this year almost 600 bears have been killed by our provincial government. These are just the losses that we know of and in many cases the cubs are not counted. As peaceful beings, albeit with long claws and sharp teeth, they are put to death by our government. The reason….. our government does not trust them. The term for this is “Precautionary Principle”. It means, “….not that they will do us harm, but that they can…” The Conservation Officer Service considers them to be a “human safety risk”…and I for one ethically do not buy it, and our science does not support this risk.

People are starting to demand a kinder, and a more compassionate existence with bears. MY term for this is the “Respect for Life Principle”…”just because we can, doesn’t mean we should…”. Ironically it is the same moral code that bears live by.

Here’s to 2021 and may it be a better year for the bears in our province and living around our communities. They truly deserve better!

Thank you for listening friends… Ellie