SLOTH BEAR: Expand Your Perceptions

Known as the “Unbearlike” Bear, Sloth Bear defies most people’s ideas about Bears. Because of her slow gait and ability to live in trees, Sloth Bear was classified with Sloths. Adding to her slothlike characteristics, She also specializes in eating Termites and Ants. Because She lives in the tropics, Sloth Bear does not hibernate like other Bears.

However, Sloth Bear is from the oldest lineage of True Bears. She diverged from the main lineage of Bears about 6 million years ago. Scientists think that glaciers blocked her passage out of India. In her migration north, Sloth Bear was stopped at the foothills of the Himalayas.

Sloth Bear adapted to life in the Tropics by eating fruits and Insects.  By dragging her long front claws, She digs into Termite mounds. When Termites rush outside, Sloth Bear vacuums Them up, with her large mobile lips. In addition, her vacuuming is made easier by the lack of upper incisors in her jaw.

Sloth Bear lives a rich life. Spending time with Her Friends, She howls, roars, squeals, yelps, rattles, and gurgles with Them. Even when She suns Herself in a tree, Sloth Bear buzzes and hums. When She is out and about with Her Family, Sloth Bear Cub rides on Mother’s back. Father Sloth Bear travels with Them as well.

Sloth Bear changes people’s perceptions of Bears. In fact, She asks them to expand their notions of life. Regardless of what people think, Sloth Bear is all Bear, even when She is buzzing in her tree.

AMERICAN BLACK BEAR: Expect the Unexpected

The least aggressive of all Bears, Black Bear (Ursus americanus) is also the most prosperous. Having wide-ranging tastes in food, He can thrive in any type of forest. In fact, Black Bear spends much of his year browsing on twigs, buds, and berries. He rounds out his meals with Grubs and Worms. In the fall, however, Black Bear switches to nuts and roots. By feeding on plants and small animals, He is freed from having to hunt Big Game all the time to survive.

Unlike other Bears of the world, Black Bear has expanded his range in modern times. Before the last Ice Age, He migrated from Asia and discovered that the New World was already populated with fierce predators. Black Bear learned to survive by climbing trees and eating fruits. Throughout the years, his intelligence has served Him well. Today, Black Bear can get food from people’s cars. He simply climbs on the roof, and jumps up and down until the roof collapses. The doors pop open, and dinner is served.

Wherever Black Bear lives, He is the keystone species of the region. Because He forages here and there, Black Bear disperses plant seeds throughout the forest. By hunting browsing animals, Black Bear prevents the forest from being overrun. Not only that, He, also, eats large numbers of Colonial Insects.

What Black Bear teaches people is to expect the unexpected. Hungry, He mugs people’s cars for food. A carnivore, Black Bear spends most of his time eating fruits and nuts. Just when people have Him figured out, He does the unexpected by hunting a deer instead of eating berries.

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Conservation Note: The hunting of American Black Bear is regulated in the United States.

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Picture of "Black Bear" by Mary Ann Sterling

Bear Family: Speaking Truth to Power

The most recently evolved of the Carnivores, Bears appeared on earth about 20 million years ago. They now contain the largest meat eaters on land. Despite their heavy bones and massive skulls, Bears are fast sprinters, able to keep pace with Horse. In addition, many Bears are good tree climbers, foraging for fruit and nuts. Lifting large boulders, They eat Insects, that live under the rocks. Swimming for long distances in the cold Arctic Seas, Polar Bears hunt Seals. In their pursuit of food, Bears are quite resourceful.

Throughout history, people’s lives have intertwined with Bears’ lives. These Predators stand up, eat the same foods, and protect their children, much like people do. Because of these similarities, people feel a kinship with Bears. Humans and Bears have been wary, respectful, and tolerant of each other. However, contact with the other usually ended in disaster for both people and Bears.

Bears are one of the oldest recorded totemic beings. For many peoples, Bears offer their nurturing, protection, and wisdom. Ancient legends tell of people sharing caves with Bears. (People were contemporaries of Cave bears (Ursus speleus) in Eurasia.) Early people often sought permission from the elders and from the Bears, before hunting a Bear. In addition, special ceremonies were often held to ensure the Bear’s Spirit were at peace, after the killing.

Various peoples have traditions of Bears as intimate members of their cultures. Among Native Americans, Bear, “the animal that walks like a man”, would care for lost children and raise them. Among the Basque and Siberian peoples, if a person was killed by Bear then they came back as a Bear. Arcadians of the Mediterranean Basin claim that they are descended from Bears, as well.

Bears urge people to speak truth to power. In the face of power, truth is their best ally and weapon. Knowledge of Bears has helped people to avoid being killed. In addition, this powerful Animal appears in people’s dreams offering individual truths. Bears go into the dark regions where people fear to go, and speak truth to power for them.

 Bear Family’s Teachings Include:
“This innate visceral fear of bears lives somewhere inside all of us. Stone Age man still hunkers in the cave of our emotions and his survival is still threatened by predators. This Stone Age fear will always exist but we can control it with understanding. To make it easier to coexist with bears, because without them our lives will be greatly diminished.” Copyright: “Bears of the World”, Lance Craighead.

“Bear has two sides to his personality. On one hand he is curious, cheerful, good-natured, and deliberate. On the other hand, he is quick to anger, because he is sure of his own power, and will defend his family to the death. Bear’s only enemies are man and forest fires.” Copyright, “Alaska Bear Tales”, Larry Kanuit.
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Note: Because of DNA evidence, Giant Pandas are grouped with Bears, while Red Pandas are classified with Raccoons.

Conservation Note: Bears are endangered, and are protected by laws worldwide.

SHORT-FACED BEAR SUB-FAMILY (Arctodus): Interconnectedness of Life

The Family of Bears (Ursidae) is usually divided into three Sub-families – Giant Panda (Ailuropodinae), True Bears (Ursinae), and Short-faced Bears (Tremarctinae).  Today only Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus) of South America represents the Short-faced Bear Sub-family.  Extinct members of the Tremarctinae included Arctodus pristinus (Lesser Short-Faced Bear), Arctodus simus (Giant Short-faced Bear), and Florida Cave Bear (Tremarctos floridanus).

            Although He had a similar lifestyle to European Cave Bear (Ursus spelaeus), Florida Cave Bear was not related to Her, since European Cave Bear was a True Bear.  Though large and muscular, He was a vegetarian who preferred to eat berries instead of meat.  As well as dwelling in caves, Florida Cave Bear also roamed the swamps and valleys of the Southeastern United States.

            Meanwhile Arctodus simus and Arctodus pristinus split off from an earlier Bear Ancestor – Plionarctos, who lived in North America about 10 million years ago.  A. simus evolved to be the largest carnivore on earth since the Age of the Dinosaurs.  Smaller than A. simus, A. pristinus was still larger than the other Carnivores.  Because their snouts were short in proportion to their heads, these Bears became known as the Short-faced Bears or Bull-dog Bears.  However, these ancient Bears had the same skull proportions as modern Bears.

            When the bones of A. simus were first discovered, her huge size led many paleontologists to believe that She was the ultimate carnivore. They reasoned that both A. simus and A. pristinus needed a lot of meat to survive, and therefore ate it in huge amounts.  However, upon further investigation, various scientists had to revise their ideas to include the theory that these Bears were probably specialized scavengers.

            When various paleontologists examined the leg bones of these two Short-faced Bears, they realized that these bones were too long for their large bodies if the Bears were to be active hunters.  Moreover, these Bears’ legs were not those of a carnivore, since these limbs could not withstand the quick turns and long periods of running after prey.  Thus, the physical makeup of the Bears’ legs points towards these animals being scavengers.

            Other signs that A. simus and A. pristinus were probably scavengers were the construction of their nasal cavities, jaws and teeth.  To be a scavenger, an animal needs a keen sense of smell to detect rotting corpses from long distances.  The large nasal cavities of these Bears provided Them with an acute sense of smell.  Meanwhile, the jaws and teeth of these Bears were designed to crack open bones to get to the nourishing marrow inside.

            Short-faced Bears went extinct when the mega-fauna (Mammoths and others) of the Americas and their predators died off.  Though They were impressive in their size and scope, Short-faced Bears were specialized scavengers.  With the loss of large carcasses, They had nothing to eat and could not sustain Themselves. 

            Short-faced Bears demonstrate the interconnectedness of life.  As scavengers, They ate the leftovers from the kills of the super-predators such as Saber-toothed Cats. When the large prey animals such as Mammoths died off, the predators and the specialized scavengers had little to eat. (Only generalists such as Grizzlies, who could live off on Insects and berries, would survive.)  In this ancient world of mega-fauna, life seemed abundant, but something happened to cause this particular thread of life to snap.  When that web of life broke, these large animals became doomed.   

When we recognize our interdependence with others in our lives, we can keep these webs strong.  Because we need many others in our lives, we must keep these threads alive.  For our own survival, we must preserve the diverse richness of life in our own environments.  When all of us act as one, the web of life becomes strengthened.

BEAR-DOG FAMILY (Amphicyonids): Fluidity in Judgment

Since Amphicyonids resemble both Bears and Dogs, They became known as “Bear-dogs”.  These Carnivores had skulls similar to Dogs but feet and claws similar to Bears.  In addition, various Members of the Bear-dog Family had bodies that ranged from being Dog-like to Bear-like.  In fact, scientists once thought that Amphicyonids were “true dogs”, but now regard Them to be closer kin to Bears.

From the Eocene to the Pleistocene epoch (about forty-six million years ago to two million years ago), Members of the Bear-dog Family lived in Africa, Eurasia, and North America.  Bear-dogs ranged from fast-moving meat eaters who looked like Dogs to Panda-like scavengers.  Possessing sharp claws, many of the Bear-dogs were active diggers who dug out Rodents out of their burrows for food. Denning in steep river banks, Bear-dogs would line their homes with fur and soft leaves.  Meanwhile, other Bear-dogs scavenged by driving other Animals away from their kills.  However these versatile Carnivores became extinct when They were unable to compete with “true Bears”, who emerged during the Pleistocene epoch.

Bear-dogs point to the hazards of using our time to measure and analyze deep time.  For example, a close relative of Amphicyonids was Cynodictis, who was once thought to be the first “true dog” (which turned out to be false). Although Bear-dogs are now traditionally regarded as relatives of Bears, that also is in doubt.  Upon further study, Bear-dogs may be placed in their own grouping of Carnivores. 

The evolution of Dog is more complex than first realized.  The first Dogs were Hesperocyons, who emerged in North America.  Later Bears split off from the Doglike branch of Carnivores.  Meanwhile, Bear-dogs existed before and alongside various Members of the Dog Family.

Bear-dogs, by virtue of their fluidity, challenge us to establish new ways of seeing deep time.  Since our time is unlike deep time, we have little to compare this time with.  Therefore when we go into deep time, we must leave our preconceived notions behind.  However, we should not leave our sensible judgment behind.  By being sensible but not static, we can be more accurate in our judgments.  Bear-dogs will not allow us to stagnate in deep time, but will keep us as fluid as They are. 

The Elements and Animals (1)

Elemental Animals
In assigning correspondences between various animals and the elements, both the cultural aspects and natural aspects of each animal needs to be considered. For example, dragonflies are masters of their small ponds, which would indicate an affinity with water. However to the Chinese and Japanese, they are creatures of flight and the air.

Meanwhile the species of animal also needs to be taken into consideration. Salamanders, in general, like mudpuppy and tiger salamander need water because they are amphibians. However fire salamander has poisons to deter people. This salamander could then be assigned to the element of fire instead of water.

In some cases, the same animal could be considered for more than one element based on different cultural aspects of that animal. Raven is a case in point. As an animal of deep magic, raven would be assigned to water. However, for the Northwest Indians, the Raven brought fire to them. For me a combination the lore and natural habits of the animal determines their corresponding element.

MAMMALS

Bear (Brown): Earth

Brown Bears are one of the oldest recorded totemic beings. Ancient legends tell of people sharing caves with bears. (People were contemporaries of Cave Bears (Ursus speleus) in Eurasia.) Early people often sought permission from the elders and from the Brown Bears, before hunting a bear. Brown Bears were powerful shamanic beings that connected people with the Mother Earth through caves.

(Note: The Polar Bear, a maritime bear, could be assigned to water.)

Cat (Domestic): Spirit or Water

Spirit: Throughout the centuries, Domestic Cat’s fortunes has risen and fallen. In Ancient Rome and Egypt, she was a goddess. Because a domestic cat symbolized the Egyptian god Bast, any person who killed a Domestic Cat was put to death. As the Cat-Mother, Bast embodied the benevolent aspects of Cat: fertility, love, and life-giving heat. In Rome, she represented the Goddess of Liberty. Roman legions carried images of Domestic Cat on their shields and standards.

Water: In early Christian times, Domestic Cat was regarded as a helper. Aboard Noah’s Ark, she kept out the Devil, who had taken on the form of a gnawing mouse. The “M” on her forehead was placed there by the Virgin Mary, in gratitude for her aid in putting the Baby Jesus to sleep. Stories of the saints featured Domestic Cat killing the mice that tormented various Catholic saints.

A late arrival in Japan, Domestic Cat did not appear in Japanese folklore until about the 1400s. Since the Japanese believed that she brought good fortune, they made statues of Domestic Cat with her front left paw raised for good luck. In addition, Japanese sailors believed that Domestic Cat kept the evil spirits away that dwelled in the sea.

Canids: Wolf (Grey): Spirit

The Native Americans of the Plains heeded Grey Wolf’s wisdom since she taught them how to live properly. The Kiowa taught their children to respect Grey Wolf through prayer and proper hunting. In addition, many Indian people regarded Grey Wolf to be a good sign since she was strong, wise, and courageous.

Meanwhile among the Baltic peoples, Grey Wolf was associated with the Other World. Sniffing amber, Grey Wolf received the power to communicate with the Unseen Forces. For the Baltic peoples, she acted as a guide to the Other Side.

(Note: The Red Wolf, who dens in trees, could be assigned to the element of air.)

Canids: Coyote: Spirit

Among the Native Americans of the West, Coyote is revered for many things. The Shoshone say that Coyote and Wolf created the world. Among California Indians, Coyote taught people lessons about the mistakes they make in life.

Meanwhile among the Lakota, Coyote was a representative of Wakinyan (Thunder Beings). Those who saw Coyote in a vision were considered Heyoka (Sacred Clowns), who taught, through example, by doing things the wrong way. Within the concept of Heyoka was an acceptance of Coyote’s innate wisdom of purposeful chaos.

Giant Panda: Embrace Diversity

A survivor of the last Ice Age, Giant Panda belongs to the oldest family of the most primitive bears (Ailuropodinae). Although He has a digestive system of a meat eater, Giant Panda feeds exclusively on bamboo. Until DNA testing became available, scientists could not identify what Mammal Family Giant Panda belonged to.

Sitting on his rump, this ancient Bear grasps bamboo shoots and calmly munches away at them. His “thumb” makes Giant Panda unique among animals. This elongated wrist bone gives Him an extra opposable digit on his paw. Giant Panda uses this as a “hand” when He eats.

Because bamboo was so plentiful and widespread in South Asia, Giant Panda decided to become solely dependent on this plant. Now that the bamboo forests are fragmented, Giant Panda is severely endangered. Because of his specialization, He cannot go back to the omnivore habits of his fellow Bears.

Giant Panda asks people to embrace diversity. He is a Bear who eats exclusively plants. He has a “thumb” unlike any other Animal. However, do not become so unique that you endanger yourself.

Teachings of the Giant Panda:
“What is black and white and black and white and black and white? Pandas symbolize the diversity and tenacity of life.” Copyright: Lance Craighead, “Bears of the World”.

Wisdom of the Giant Panda:
Being Unique
Tenacity
Becoming a Vegetarian

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Copyright: Virginia Carper, Animal Teachers, 2008

From Universal Class, fun self-paced classes taught by me:

Finding Your Animal Teachers

Animals For Everyone: Mammals

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