Animal Writings

In this beautiful photoessay of peaceful coexistence between grizzlies and humans, the two species not only display curiosity and comfort with the other, but a grizzly mama trusts friendly humans enough to leave her cubs with them while she forages and/or hunts for food. Not too many people have been appointed as grizzly cub babysitters!

The author points out that the grizzles in the photos are not hunted by humans, and that their encounters with humans have all been peaceful, therefore they have no reason to be overly defensive around humans. They fish, rest, and nurse and play with their cubs just a few yards from humans—who, as you can see in the photos, are quite relaxed themselves.

I'm not prepared to say you can totally let down your guard around grizzlies as long as you and they are in a protected area. Any living being can be unpredictable, and grizzlies have such enormous strength that even the briefest episode of aggression could be fatal for the target or innocent bystander in the way of that aggression.

But it is worth pondering what our relationship to wildlife would be if we always treated them with kindness and respect. Many of us know that compassionate attitudes and behaviors can make a world of difference in how animals react to us. How many times have I seen or heard about a "mean" or "vicious" animal, only to find out that the animal was reacting to meanness thrust upon him by humans, or was in constant pain or fear? We might act the same way under those conditions. With animals as with humans, kindness and loving care often turns these "mean" animals into the most loving individuals you can imagine.

Some theorize that after thousands of years of being hunted, shot at, poisoned, trapped, harassed, bludgeoned, and otherwise killed, maimed, and injured by humans, wild animals have evolved to fear and distrust humans. If that is so, I wonder if that could be reversed if we were always respectful and kind to them. They have good reason to be fearful and distrustful of us—look how we've treated them. But as we know from our own experiences, when others treat you with kindness, you are much more apt to reciprocate. Of course, some species are loners, and there is a whole range of sociability in animals. But on the other hand, there are countless examples of individuals from a multitude of species who develop deep and lifelong friendships with humans.

Generally speaking, we decide what type of world we want: One based on violence and mutual mistrust, or one based on compassion and respect. Your and my actions each day help determine in which direction the world will go.

Labels: grizzly bears, interspecies friendship, wildlife