Can humans and bears be "friends"?
Can we live in mutual respect?
Nature is both beautiful and terrifying. Bears may be the best example of this. They are cute in photos and in zoos, but nothing is more terrifying when you meet them in nature. Even in Japan, damage caused by bears and damage to bears has not disappeared, and there are fatalities almost every year. Can humans and bears live together?
Gizmodo asked this question to environmentalists, naturalists, authors and others to find out.
＊ ＊ ＊At 21 stone and seven feet tall, a bear officiated this couple's wedding https://t.co/vJz7ZQ49Tjpic.twitter.com/6HOiPIpkLU
— The Times of London (@thetimes) November 1, 2016At the end of 2016, a photo of a bear officiating a wedding in Russia went viral. The photo turned out to be a fake, but the popularity of such photos speaks volumes. Despite thousands of years of history between humans and bears, and chilling documentaries, somewhere we think of bears like big, cute dogs living in the woods. I want to
Am I wrong to think so? Is it possible for humans and bears to have a relationship similar to that of owners and pets, or at least harmless to each other? When you look at examples like Timothy Treadwell's documentary Grizzly Man, which advocated for the conservation of wild bears and ended up being brutally devoured, the answer seems to be "impossible."
However, the experts we interviewed (those who study bears, live with them, and work to protect their habitat) believe that all bonds between humans and bears are bloodshed. I reject the idea that it will end. Almost everyone agrees that bears are wild animals. Even if you snuggle your nose in a friendly way, even if you've been riding a bicycle together in the circus for 20 years, there's a high risk that one day you'll suddenly be attacked with claws or eaten. But opinions vary on how close we are to them, and what it means to be "close" in the first place.
Dr. Oded Berger-Tal
Editor of Conservation Behavior: Applying Behavioral Ecology to Wildlife Conservation and Management Professor of Desert Ecology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Quite frankly, it wouldn't be possible.First of all, bears are wild animals and the concept of "friendship" is man-made. There are many "cute" videos online of wild bears being fed and played with by humans. When we look at it, it's easy to feel like we have a close friendship with our domestic dogs. Bears are usually docile, which makes for cute videos. But bears are so smart that they quickly learn that they can be eaten by humans, or by certain people.
The problem is that bears don't understand the human-made concept of "friendship." So, whether it's because the mother bear was trying to protect her cubs, or because she was randomly looking for food before hibernation, it's enough for a bear that eats from a human's hand to eat the person the next day. It is possible. "Grizzly Man" is a classic example. Timothy Treadwell said he had been in contact with a grizzly bear for days and tamed it, but one day he was eaten along with his girlfriend. The story also tells the story of one of the biggest victims of these "friendship stories." It's a bear. The bear that attacked the two was killed. I wonder why? The bears followed their instincts, but in our eyes they seem to have "betrayed" the man who thought of them as a friend. We impose human concepts on animals and kill those who disobey.
Associating humans and human habitats with food is dangerous for humans, but it's even more dangerous for bears. Once you start thinking that ``humans are easy food,'' you will relentlessly try to get that food and leave its fate in the hands of humans. Humans who try to kill bears that approach human settlements in the name of protecting human life decide whether to live or die based on human values that bears do not know or understand. So it's far from being a "friendship".
video: Film Trailers In HD And HQGordon M. Burghardt
Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Ecological/Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Former Editor of the Journal of Comparative Psychology Author of The Genesis of Animal Play: Testing the Limits and a chapter on "Human-Bear Relationship Building as Part of a Black Bear Ecological Survey" in The Inevitable Bond.
What is friendship? how do you estimate? Beyond that question, friendships between bears and humans are more like interactions between different species. Are Pet Cats "Friends"? What about dogs and turtles? Decades ago, I raised several bear cubs in my home, traveled with bears to study their habits, and saw examples and literature of close relationships between bears and humans (both bears and dogs). In other words, close interactions are possible, and in the case of captive bears, it is clear that the relationship continues into adulthood.
Of course, bears are huge and powerful, and a misjudgment can result in serious injury or even death. It's also an obstacle, as it's more difficult for many people to read a bear's emotions and thoughts than a dog's. The same question could be translated to home-raised chimpanzees. If it is possible for chimpanzees, it should be possible for bears, which have high intelligence, social skills, and playful habits. Domestic dogs kill more people a year, but how many people deny that dogs aren't man's best friend? We need to stop thinking of other races and relationships with them in terms of anything human.
video: Orphaned Wildlife CenterFred Koontz
Deputy Chief of Conservation at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. He is currently working on rescuing a grizzly bear.
Due to their lack of human interaction, it is nearly impossible to develop strong relationships with wild bears.But as a conservationist, I believe that humans should be friendly with wild bears, respect them, support their conservation, and show how much they contribute to creating ecosystems that benefit humans as well. It should be noted that it is important. Respect is essential to friendship. In this case, it is unidirectional.
Bears are never domesticated, even in zoos. They are wild animals no matter how long they have been in the zoo. Keepers may develop a relationship of some degree, and the bears may recognize it and have some respect for each other, but it cannot be called a "friendship." Any bear is a potential danger.
So I don't think it's possible to make friends with a bear. But you should try to have a relationship of respect, compassion, and empathy.
Thomas McNamee
Author of The Grizzly Bear (1984, 1990), The Return of the Wolf to Yellowstone (1997), The Killing of Wolf Number Ten, and others.
So the closest we can get between dogs, cats, horses, etc. is emotional familiarity and a certain amount of mutual empathy. Then it is definitely possible. Of course, this is not possible with tropical fish or snakes. So, for example, what if you could tame a baby raccoon dog? Hoom. Somewhere in between? You will probably be able to understand the raccoon dog to some extent, but I don't think the raccoon dog will understand you much.
There's a guy in Montana called Casey Anderson who owns an 800 lb. grizzly named Brutus. He has raised Brutus since he was a child and now he can ride on his back like a horse. He also appeared on a DVD called Expedition Wild (a National Geographic series), where he was filmed running around like old movie lovers. They seem like friends, and Anderson calls Brutus his "best friend."
But I think so. What if Anderson inadvertently offends Brutus, and Brutus punches him? Bears are by no means cool animals (they don't need to, they evolved without cool rivals). When faced with other animals or bears, an angry grizzly will pounce on its front paws. Its power is enough to crush a human skull. It also has a biting force of 1000 pounds per square inch.
How much emotional affinity and mutual empathy exists between Casey Anderson and Brutus? Watching their videos and hearing about Anderson's genuine love for Brutus, it's hard to believe there isn't an emotional connection between the two. But given the long-studied biological reality of bears, viewers, especially children, should be skeptical. Otherwise, ignorant emotions and wishful thinking will lead to the imposition of feelings on the part of humans, denying the grizzly its cherished identity: the wild.
Anyway, it's best to think of Brutus as a well-trained and very dangerous friend.
video: National GeographicMichael Dax
Author of Grizzly West: A Failed Attempt to Reintroduce Grizzly Bears in the Mountain West, Former Yellowstone National Park Tour Guide, Montana Graduated from university with a master's degree in environmental history. He has written for many media outlets including Yes! Magazine and High Country News.
It's clearly possible to some degree, given the trained bears that appear in movies and elsewhere. But when it comes to wild bears, the answer is no.I've been a tour guide in Yellowstone National Park for several years, and I've had multiple people killed by bears during that time. There are many reasons, but in the end it all boils down to humans not respecting bears and underestimating them to be a little safer in parks.
Brooks Range in Alaska, for example, has plenty of food for bears and gentle waterfalls that are perfect for catching salmon. Many people come there, but there has not been a single incident of being killed by a bear. They have plenty of food, so they don't see humans as a threat.
However, there are few opportunities to meet humans immediately after birth, and it is absolutely impossible in Yellowstone National Park, where humans cannot get used to it. Every bear I encountered in nature either completely ignored me or ran away in fright.
It is now hypothesized that humans have inadvertently genetically deprived grizzly bears of their ferocity. I read in Lewis Clark's journal that the bears they shot chased them half a mile while being shot, When he died, he had eight bullets in his body.
The hypothesis is that while humans hunted the ferocious bears, the docile bears fled into the mountains, and as a result, the docile bears have survived until now. Even so, bears cannot be friends.
As a matter of policy, bears should avoid associating humans with food. When that happens, bears will begin to live near humans, and someday an incident will occur.
video: Dolynny TVDoug Peacock
Naturist, Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness, The Essential Grizzly: The Mingled Fates of He has written many books, including Men and Bears. In recognition of his work on archaeology, climate change, and human history in North America, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellow in 2007 and a Lannan Fellow in 2011.
You can socialize with a bear, but it's not what you would call a "man's best friend."It's been about 200,000 years since humans first appeared on Earth. Humans have been associated with grizzly bears for about 100,000 years, but they are wild animals. The only person I know who gets along with grizzly bears is an animal trainer. For example, Doug Seus, who trained the bear "Bart" in Legends of the Fall and other movies. He has a great relationship with bears. He spends a few hours a day wrestling a 1,400-pound bear. That bond was formed from the time the bear was a child, and the bear who spent 16 years in his breeding method has stagnated in the development of thinking, so to speak, at the age of puberty. called subadults.
I know Timothy Treadwell. After spending her first year in Alaska, she visited me in Arizona. Maybe he wanted my support. I gave him advice, but he definitely listened with half the story. He gave the bears strange names like Boopie and Honey, but unfortunately Timothy made a big mistake. Wild animals like bears accept humans only within their own rules. And it is completely unaffected by human convenience and expectations.
Over the course of about ten years, I have had several weeks of interaction with wild grizzly bears, some of which have been downright dangerous.
There was one big black grizzly that showed up every year. Overlooking a small valley from my campsite, I could see about 10 grizzly bears peacefully eating huckleberries, etc., but once the big grizzly appeared, the area was in an uproar. When he appears, mother bears with cubs run away.
One day I was walking up a hill to my camp at the top of a small mountain range. A winter storm was coming, so I had to climb early. Suddenly, the grizzly bear appeared on the side of the hill. A little above him is a mother bear and a one-year-old cub, and I thought the giant bear would chase after the mother if it saw it.
It actually happened right under me. I heard a loud roar. They were 30 or 50 feet ahead of me, unaware of me, and fled across the hill, but as the cub was lagging behind, the black grizzly gradually caught up and was a few feet behind her. approached. On the verge of catching up, the mother bear turned and fought back. I heard the most ferocious sound in nature, the sound of grizzly bears fighting each other. The fight lasted three to four minutes before abruptly stopping, and the black grizzly turned to its side to signal the end.
The storm is coming and I have to go back to camp. However, in front of me was a huge, angry bear with an incomplete combustion fight. Perhaps he would have gone back down the hill to eat his huckleberries if nothing had happened. But he's between me and the camp. Now I have to negotiate with him. When I talk to the bear, I stick out my hands and turn my face to the side. Face-to-face with your head facing forward means confrontation for the bear.
When he heard me he lunged (I think it was a light hop for him). With just one jump, the distance between us suddenly halved. He was within 10 yards when he slammed his front foot into the ground and I was ready. I had no choice but to talk to him.
At last he gracefully turned his head to the side to give way, and I circled it and headed for the camp.
I don't usually have a bonfire because I don't want to upset the bears, but that night I did. An hour after dark, I heard him coming up the steep side of the hill. As I headed over, I could see his red eyes against the campfire in the darkness. He's 30 feet away and doesn't move no matter how much you talk to him. After that, I came back from different slopes every hour and a half, and continued until 2:00 in the morning. Later that day, I left my belongings (tent, sleeping bag, dirty shirt) in the same place on a tall tree, but he tore them off. Nothing was stolen, so this was his message to get out of this mountain. Of course I did.
video: ForTheGrizzlyShannon Donahue
President of the Great Bear Foundation, an organization that studies and protects bear ecology.
Bears are a symbol of the vastness of nature and wildness, but they also have a kind of charismatic presence that stirs the human imagination, such as their slightly human-like gestures. Bears share the same land as humans, eat the same food, and enjoy a balanced solitude silence and social behavior just like us. Curiosity is key to a bear's biology, and they are willing to explore and try new things in their environment. So we can adapt to change, take advantage of new food sources, and avoid crises. Curiosity is important for humans as well, which may be why we are fascinated by bears and sometimes try to befriend or interact with bears.Bears are at the top of the food chain in their habitat. So there is some latitude to weigh benefits and risks against foreseeable risks. Sometimes it's profitable for bears to take risks, for example eating salmon or huckleberries in the presence of other bears and humans. An understanding of the dangers to other bears and humans allows bears to accept risks, reduce their stress responses, and use abundant food sources to store the nutrients they need to survive the winter.
These reactions are part of the acclimatization process, and if there are no negative consequences of approaching a human, they will become accustomed to the presence of the human. As bears become acclimated to humans, they associate us with foods such as picnic food, garbage, caught fish, and pet food, and learn that human interaction has short-term benefits. . This is called "conditioning," and it's dangerous for both humans and bears because it affects how they interact with each other.
If humans and bears understand the risks to each other and we don't approach bears, humans and bears could share the same area. If you don't get too close to take pictures or scare them away from your camp or picnic area, they will mistakenly think it's safe to engage with us. They often test boundaries that they can approach. If you give them away to bears, they will start rummaging through our garbage, attacking chicken coops, and even breaking into our homes to find food. Every year, bears are needlessly killed because they have learned to approach humans for food. This is also dangerous for humans, pets and farm animals, as bears can go berserk to defend their food. That's why the National Park Service started chasing bears away from garbage dumps in the 70s, and cities, states, and government agencies have banned feeding bears with garbage and pet food.
Bears are symbols of the wild and fascinating animals that inspire our curiosity. But when humans interact with them, they harm the wild and teach them to take risks that harm each other. It is possible to interact with bears, but it usually results in the bear's death and sometimes humans. they should live in the wild.
・Can you really say you're not a robot?
top image: Jim Cooke/Gizmodo USsource: Twitter, YouTube (Film Trailers In HD And HQ, Orphaned Wildlife Center, National Geographic, Dolynny TV, ForTheGrizzly) Reference: Wikipedia
Daniel Kolitz - Gizmodo US [original] (scheme_a)