The Bear

The age old urge to hunt still widely adopted by many across the land, the animals vastly outnumbered by our ever increasing population.

It does seem like our trusty home planet can't sustain even more eager hunting, although the hunters themselves are often some of the keenest environmentalists. 

They've effectively worked to create a system that monitors resident animal populations, and efficiently gives out requisite tags meticulously designed to keep up the numbers.

It's not something I would ever do I'm so harmless I hesitate to squash mosquitoes, but if wildlife populations can sustain hunting, letting people hunt is much less cumbersome than banning it.

As I've mentioned before, it's also a good way for many Northern families to get food during the winter, which is often shared throughout the community, and if wisely managed, animal populations aren't threatened (and people aren't grumpy).

I don't like trophy hunting however and the arguments will never convince me,  I may agree with someone just to shut them up, but I'll never support superfluous animal killing.

At least if people are using modern weapons and elaborate technology to track the animals, our advantage is so lopsided that I don't see any skill or honour in the undertaking.

An animal like a bear is usually harmless anyways, they often just go about their business eating a routine vegetarian diet. 

They're nothing like the openly hostile xenomorphs in the Alien franchise, whose natural instincts unilaterally demand they never stop fighting no matter what.

If you wanted to hunt an animal and you were simply dropped off in the bush somewhere, and you had to survive with what the wilderness provides, and construct your weapons from natural material, then hunting becomes more honourable, but I still don't see the point.

Neither did Jean-Jacques Annaud when he made his beautiful film The Bear, wherein which we find a loveable cub living and dreaming on its own in the Northern wilderness.

Delicately within, he tenderly presents ursine sublimity through natural wonder, to humbly suggest why not just leave these solitary shy individuals alone?

It's a really cool thing when you see a bear just move away slowly and keep your distance.

Bear populations don't bounce back quickly.

They're not hurting anyone.

Why bother hunting them? 

Great Bear Rainforest

British Columbia's ancient coastal biodiversity, realm of the Great Bear Rainforest, home to wondrous species and the humans who study them, overflowing with composite symbiotic life, a treasure trove of enchanting dense resiliency, where the freshwater of B.C.'s interior blends with oceanic rhythms.

Incredibly.

A very rare type of temperate rainforest found in few locations around the globe, it nourishes unique lifeforms, its currents spiritual fuel.

Not this blog peeps, the forest, I'm writing about the Great Bear Rainforest here, I don't see why I have to explain this, again, but some people just don't get it.

Although this blog does have its charms.

Ian McAllister's Great Bear Rainforest highlights significant features of its bounteous titular domain.

The graceful sea otter, who has flourished since being extirpated from the region, insatiable fashionable greed voraciously hunting it to extinction, its reintroduction coinciding with less rapacious commercial stratagems, as if people suddenly realized they're ever so cute, and left them alone to flourish in wonder.

The majestic humpback whale, who returns every year to dine on herring, its numbers also bouncing back from voracious hunting, although ever so slowly due to low reproductive rates.

Slippery seals, accustomed to gliding through enriching submerged jurisdictions, as focused as they are elastic, in search of scaling symphonic synergies.

Grizzly, black, and spirit bears, the latter in fact a subspecies of the black bear, disharmoniously cohabitating at times, yet still sharing good fortune as they see fit.

I was hoping to see what animals benefit from the ways in which bears alter their landscapes as they dig for food, detecting this and that with their great sense of smell, depending on what nature's currently providing, as they cover vast distances à la carte.

Another time perhaps.

It's cool to see the healthy relationships local First Nations people still cultivate with their environment within, going on 14,000 years, why is sustainable harvesting such a difficult concept to grasp?, fish sustainably and keep fishing forever, overfish, and the resource disappears.

Great Bear Rainforest emphasizes that salmon leaping up waterfalls is the equivalent of humans jumping over four-story buildings (narration by Ryan Reynolds), and then proceeds to share some of the best shots of salmon jumping I've seen.

Bears perched to catch them.

Cinematography by Andy Maser, Ian McAllister, Jeff Turner, and Darren West.

It's a cool introduction to B.C.'s Great Bear Rainforest that depicts nature overflowing with life.

Along with the occasional hardships.

And the robust dynamics of adorable bear families.

Bears

Ebulliently emerging from their cavernous Winter's den, finding themselves scampering behind their ardent Mother, Sky, Scout and Amber, born atop an imposing majestic mountain, must quickly learn what it means to bear, to survive the threatening upcoming months, and ensure that they're fit for their next torpid slumber.

While trying to have a little fun along the way.

Imitating mom is well within their natural dexterities, but precisely duplicating her actions proves difficult, seeing how they may be having a better time revelling in their mischief, adorably exploring this and that, coming to terms with their brief bounding youth.

Sky does her best, nevertheless (Amber's more aware of the danger), teaching them the ancient ways of Alaskan grizzlykind, patient, observant, nurturing, ready to protect at all costs, doing everything she can, to stimulate their growth.

While food is scarce, tensions run high, and finding what would otherwise be a colossal seasonal feast, is fraught with competitive angst, those not possessing the requisite weight impounded, forced to keep searching, until Valhalla dawns.

Disneynature's Bears offers family friendly insights into the lives of young grizzlies, not without moments that may cause you to think not another Bambi, this is the harsh world of bears, beautifully euphemized, alluringly prohibitive.

The film's primary focus is, correct, bears, and it predominantly examines bearkind, which is both a strength and a weakness, clearly evidencing a variety of behaviours for curious audiences, while perhaps not focusing enough attention on surrounding flora and fauna.

I'm curious to know if the filmmakers had a plan for the Bambi scenario?

Mandatory viewing for jurisdictions considering hosting a Spring bear hunt.

How many Scouts and Ambers end up orphaned every year because of such hunts?

How many?

Narrated by John C. Reilly.

Hoping there's a sequel.

Was lucky enough to see 10 grizzlies the other day in Haines, Alaska, on the Chilkoot River. 2 moms, one lone bear, and 7 cubs. The cubs were fishing, wrestling, and playing in the river. Also saw a lone black bear behind the Gold Creek Salmon Bake in Juneau, Alaska. Bunch of humpback whales in the Lynn Canal too.

Grizzly Bear Sighting

Spent last Sunday in a cabin reserved for travellers in need of a place to rest on the road between Haines Junction, Yukon, and Haines, Alaska, located in Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park in Northern British Columbia. Almost immediately after arriving, a grizzly bear emerged from the bush and sauntered past, in search of food to help him or her survive the upcoming winter. Never seen a grizzly before so I was rather excited. Everyone else was a wee bit more worried about the wild powerful animal passing by, only 30 feet away, and weren't that interested in discussing it for the next three hours. I watched it walk down the side of the highway for about 20 minutes, and then was happy to see it return (although his or her return made me somewhat more nervous!). I'm thankful that I was finally able to see a grizzly and am now in search of polar, kodiak, glacier and kermode bears.

Note that a lynx, a coyote, and some swans were also seen that day.

The Grizzly Manifesto: In Defence of the Great Bear.

Grizzly Bear news from British Columbia.