POLAR BEAR: Power of the Primeval

The largest carnivore on land, huge Polar Bear is well suited for life on the icy tundra. Strong and active, She has better eyesight than most Bears. The soles of her feet are covered with fur to give Her stability on the slippery ice. Polar Bear’s thick white coat traps warm insulating air, and also acts as a solar collector to keep Her warm. In addition, Polar Bear can stand high on her hind legs to scan the Arctic landscape.

Called “Ursus maritimus”, Polar Bear swims the seas like a seal. A fast swimmer, She uses her forepaws as flippers. Swimming from ice floe to ice floe, Polar Bear roams the frozen seas of the Arctic Nations, hunting from Russia to Greenland.

Feeding mainly on Seals, Polar Bear uses guile to hunt Them. She will pretend to be an ice chunk that just happens to drift by Bearded Seal. Not suspecting anything, Bearded Seal will surface next to the “ice chunk”.   Springing into action, Polar Bear lunges and kills Him in a single, powerful bite.

Polar Bear lives in a two-dimension world for sight in the Arctic and one-dimensional one during the long dark winters. For these reasons, She relies greatly on her sense of smell. Because the air is always moving, Polar Bear can smell the molecules of anything distances away.

Among the Inuit and Inupat, Polar Bear is a teacher. Since She showed them how to survive, they call Her “Person inside a bear hide”. With great reverence, they hunt Her, and also respectfully use her corpse.

Face to face with Polar Bear, a person feels her raw, wild power. Living in civilized places, most people rarely experience such power in its fullness. An encounter with Polar Bear is to come face to face with the primeval sense of life. Respect that power, and learn how to survive in your own Arctic wilderness.

Polar Bear’s Teachings Also Include:
“We are alone standing here. The only movement is the wind, our constant companion. And it comes, the sudden ghost-like appearance of the white bear moving silently, steadily across the gravel and ice-covered landscape.”   Copyright: “Bears of the World”, Terry Domico.

Loon (Diver): Unexplored Places

Loon’s primal call beckons us to wander deeper into our trackless wilderness. Hauntingly, her cries expose the lonely places of our hearts. Sending shivers down our backs, her mournful wails disturb our serenity. Suddenly breaking into our reverie, Loon fills the skies with her insane laughing.

Irrespective of how we may feel about Loon, She does have an important place in the universe. According to the Norse, a flock of Loons calling overhead are following souls into heaven. The Siberians believe that Loon escorted souls to the heavens. However to the Abenaki of North America, Loon mourns for the return of Glooskap who left them when the White Man came.

Unlike many other Birds, Loon has heavy bones. Similar to Penguins, She can swiftly sink into the water without any problems. By squeezing air from her feathers and wings, Loon easily dives deeper into the water. To hunt for fish, She holds her head just under the surface, avoiding the water’s glare. Her ability to dive quickly earned Loon, her other name of “Diver”. So well adapted is Loon to the water that her Chicks can dive when They are only two days old. Afterwards, They spread their nights on their Parents’ backs.

Let Loon be your guide to the between times. When we are hopelessly confused, She calls to us to climb on her strong back. Loon takes us through our unexplored places of loneliness to serenity. But do not get so lost by yourself that all you hear is her cackling laughter.