* and the amazing color dot maven extraordinaire: Electra Luanne McKinnon
Bears are made of the same dust as we, and breathe the same winds and drink of the same waters. A bears days are warmed by the same sun, his dwellings are overdomed by the same blue sky, and his life turns and ebbs with heart-pulsings like ours and was poured from the same fountain. John Muir
Bears keep me humble. They help me to keep the world in perspective and to understand where I fit on the spectrum of life. We need to preserve the wilderness and its monarchs for ourselves, and for the dreams of children. We should fight for these things as if our life depended upon it, because it does. Wayne Lynch
A hungry, orphaned black bear cub that entered an Arizona home -- eating chocolate cake before being discovered by the awakened homeowners has been sent to a local zoo, according to wildlife officials who called 2012 a "difficult" one for southeast Arizona bears due to wildfires and drought. "Homeowners awoke to find a bear cub had entered their home through an open kitchen window and eaten some chocolate cake," the agency stated. "Since there was no sign of an adult bear in the area, Game and Fish removed the cub and transferred the orphaned bear to the Heritage Park Zoo in Prescott." Since the cub is too young to fend for itself in the wild, it's expected to become part of a future zoo exhibit. "This year has proved difficult for bears in southeastern Arizona," the agency added. "The combination of last year’s fires and ongoing drought has resulted in a scarcity of natural food sources."
For the past seven weeks he had led an idyllic existence, swimming in lakes, eating honey and killing the odd sheep. But the adventures of Germany's most famous fugitive - Bruno the bear - came to an abrupt end on Monday when a group of Bavarian hunters shot him dead. After weeks of attempts to stun and capture the bear, Bavaria's environment ministry announced over the weekend that Bruno could be shot. Three Bavarian hunters took matters into their own hands. German officials confirmed that Bruno had been killed at 4.50am near the town of Zell in southern Germany. "The shooting has happened - the bear is dead," said Manfred Wölfl, the Bavarian government's bear specialist. Officials said the bear, which has been commuting since early May between the mountains of Italy, Austria and Germany, was a risk to humans.
Dreams of bears are complicated, enigmatic, powerful and completely transformative. When I receive a Bear Dream, time stops. It is as if the gods are saying: Take Note! This is important, tread carefully...walk in a sacred manner with this animal. Out of all the animal symbols I've had the honor to work in dreams, Bear has brought the most Change, the most transformation, the most energy. I've had many and I've worked many; there is no simple answer and the farther you dig (into myth and ancient history) the heavier and decidedly more Divine the answers become. In other words, bear as a symbol is one of the oldest and connected to the mother goddess societies of the paleolithic (see Gimbutas' work). Ancient Greece picked up the great animal symbol and placed Artemis in her care. Look to the stars, you will find Bear. Diana in Roman myth carries the bear further into the present and so on and so forth. In N. America, the bear is also connected to the Mother, the dream lodge, North, introspection, hibernation...a sacred time. Bears come to many dreamers as protagonists, sometimes the abuser, sometimes as Mother, always the bringer of sacred introspection, inner turmoil, inner reflections. Bear message brings Power. Pushing and forcing, causing fear and terrorizing or threatening to destroy. Fear is key here. Fearing both the massive strength and potential to destory is overwhelming...but a sow, the mother bear, is also a fierce mother and will defend her cubs to the death. I urge the dreamer to become the bear in your dreams and ask yourself the 6 Magic Questions. Go to my tools page. Dig deep here...what is the purpose of the bear in your dream and see if it matches your own or perhaps it is time to let the fear go, or at least become aware.
Bear Key words associated with Bear: Fear or potential threatMother Earth Protection or Protector
PowerStrength Antagonist Sleeping threat/dangerCallistoUrsa Major and MinorArtemis Neolithic Goddess symbol Midwivery Fertility Wintertime In fairy tale (Grimm's) Snow White and Rose Red, the prince is cursed as a bear Are you being a "bear"?Hibernation North Introspection Cave Dreaming
The California Fish and Game Department closed the 2012 bear hunting season on Tuesday because the DFG verified that hunters killed 1,700 bears. In fact, the DFG estimates that outstanding tags likely put the kill at slightly more than 1,700 bears. The DFG has mailed notices to all bear tag holders informing them the season has closed. And DFG wardens, biologists and customer service staff will alert hunters they see that it has closed. All bear tags, including unsuccessful tags, must be returned to the DFG Wildlife Branch, P.O. Box 944209, Sacramento, CA 94299-0002, by Feb.1, 2013.
Hunters must present their bears to a DFG employee for tag validation immediately after taking the bear. Also, successful hunters must present the skull to a DFG employee within 10 days of killing the bear to collect biological samples. Teeth and hair samples are extracted from the bears to determine age and provide DNA that will give DFG biologists an indication about the overall health of the state's bear population.
If a grizzly makes contact. If you believe the bear to be stalking you, fight back with everything you have. In general though, playing dead in a daytime grizzly encounter tends to reduce the level of injury sustained by most attack victims. Many grizzly attacks are defensive in nature, and playing dead may show the bear that you are not a threat. Keep your backpack on as it will provide added protection. The best position is to lie on your side in a fetal position. Bring your legs up to your chest and bury your head into your legs. Wrap your arms around your legs and hold on tight. You may also lie on your stomach, backpack on, and place your hands behind your neck to protect that vulnerable area. Do not play dead until the last moment. Staying on your feet may allow you to dodge, or divert an attack.
BEDFORD HEIGHTS -- A black bear cornered in a Bedford Heights tree made a dash for freedom late this afternoon and escaped his would-be captors. The bear had scrambled across the tops of near-by trees before climbing to the ground and making a dash. The bear then climbed several fences, ran through a few parking lots and disappeared. It was last seen crossing I-271 and heading into some woods.
Wild moon bears, commonly known as Asiatic black bears are caught, put in very small cages known as 'crush cages' which restricted their movement, in fact most bears live the rest of their lives on their backs. Then surgically tubes are permanent implanted into their abdomens, which is susceptible to infections and diseases to draw out, or "milk" their bile twice daily. This process is so incredibly painful to the bears that they are now gnawing off their paws and killing themselves by punching themselves in the stomach to stop the pain. Bear farmers are now fitting them with iron vests to circumvent this. It was recently reported by the Chinese press, of a mother bear who broke free from her captors, strangled her cub, then killed herself, by running head first into a concrete wall! The 'bear bile' is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat liver ailments and sore eyes. Out of the thousands of bear bile products seized by authorities last year, approximately 98 percent come from China. There are herbal and synthetic alternatives that are just as effective, and are much cheaper to buy and produce.
Bear farmers argue that by supplying the demand for bear bile their industry protects wild bears. Well, it couldn't be further from the truth. In fact wild bear bile is considered more potent, and killing wild bears is at an all time high.
Bears can be farmed for their bile for as long as 20 years, although 5 to 10 years is more the average, before they stop producing bile and are then killed/harvested. Bears are literary treated as a crop in China. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature estimates that approximately 14,000 Asiatic, Brown and Sun bears suffer this type of treatment, accounting for approximately half of the species.
Bear baiting (also called bear baying) pits a declawed and defanged bear which is chained to a stake against hunting dogs that bark and bit at it while hundreds of people watch. Spectators consider this event entertainment and hunters consider this as a training regimen for their animals.
So, while Chief Warrant Officer E.J. Murray became the first human to successfully eject from a B-58 at nonsupersonic speeds on Feb. 28, 1962, it was a 2-year-old, female black bear that made it into the history books for the first successful supersonic ejection from the aircraft. That occurred about a month later, on March 21. The bear was ejected from the plane at 35,000 feet above Edwards Air Force Base at a speed of Mach 1.3. It took nearly eight minutes for the capsule containing the bear to reach the ground safely. Statistically, the bears actually fared better than their human counterparts: While a team of humans died in an early ejection test of the B-58, no bears died during the later test runs. However, in an extremely unsettling twist, the bears were euthanized so their bodies could be examined after the ejection tests.
For the past seven weeks he had led an idyllic existence, swimming in lakes, eating honey and killing the odd sheep. But the adventures of Germany's most famous fugitive - Bruno the bear - came to an abrupt end on Monday when a group of Bavarian hunters shot him dead. After weeks of attempts to stun and capture the bear, Bavaria's environment ministry announced over the weekend that Bruno could be shot. Three Bavarian hunters took matters into their own hands. German officials confirmed that Bruno had been killed at 4.50am near the town of Zell in southern Germany. "The shooting has happened - the bear is dead," said Manfred Wölfl, the Bavarian government's bear specialist. Officials said the bear, which has been commuting since early May between the mountains of Italy, Austria and Germany, was a risk to humans.
Dreams of bears are complicated, enigmatic, powerful and completely transformative. When I receive a Bear Dream, time stops. It is as if the gods are saying: Take Note! This is important, tread carefully...walk in a sacred manner with this animal. Out of all the animal symbols I've had the honor to work in dreams, Bear has brought the most Change, the most transformation, the most energy. I've had many and I've worked many; there is no simple answer and the farther you dig (into myth and ancient history) the heavier and decidedly more Divine the answers become. In other words, bear as a symbol is one of the oldest and connected to the mother goddess societies of the paleolithic (see Gimbutas' work). Ancient Greece picked up the great animal symbol and placed Artemis in her care. Look to the stars, you will find Bear. Diana in Roman myth carries the bear further into the present and so on and so forth. In N. America, the bear is also connected to the Mother, the dream lodge, North, introspection, hibernation...a sacred time. Bears come to many dreamers as protagonists, sometimes the abuser, sometimes as Mother, always the bringer of sacred introspection, inner turmoil, inner reflections. Bear message brings Power. Pushing and forcing, causing fear and terrorizing or threatening to destroy. Fear is key here. Fearing both the massive strength and potential to destory is overwhelming...but a sow, the mother bear, is also a fierce mother and will defend her cubs to the death. I urge the dreamer to become the bear in your dreams and ask yourself the 6 Magic Questions. Go to my tools page. Dig deep here...what is the purpose of the bear in your dream and see if it matches your own or perhaps it is time to let the fear go, or at least become aware.
Bear Key words associated with Bear: Fear or potential threatMother Earth Protection or Protector
PowerStrength Antagonist Sleeping threat/dangerCallistoUrsa Major and MinorArtemis Neolithic Goddess symbol Midwivery Fertility Wintertime In fairy tale (Grimm's) Snow White and Rose Red, the prince is cursed as a bear Are you being a "bear"?Hibernation North Introspection Cave Dreaming
The California Fish and Game Department closed the 2012 bear hunting season on Tuesday because the DFG verified that hunters killed 1,700 bears. In fact, the DFG estimates that outstanding tags likely put the kill at slightly more than 1,700 bears. The DFG has mailed notices to all bear tag holders informing them the season has closed. And DFG wardens, biologists and customer service staff will alert hunters they see that it has closed. All bear tags, including unsuccessful tags, must be returned to the DFG Wildlife Branch, P.O. Box 944209, Sacramento, CA 94299-0002, by Feb.1, 2013.
Hunters must present their bears to a DFG employee for tag validation immediately after taking the bear. Also, successful hunters must present the skull to a DFG employee within 10 days of killing the bear to collect biological samples. Teeth and hair samples are extracted from the bears to determine age and provide DNA that will give DFG biologists an indication about the overall health of the state's bear population.
If a grizzly makes contact. If you believe the bear to be stalking you, fight back with everything you have. In general though, playing dead in a daytime grizzly encounter tends to reduce the level of injury sustained by most attack victims. Many grizzly attacks are defensive in nature, and playing dead may show the bear that you are not a threat. Keep your backpack on as it will provide added protection. The best position is to lie on your side in a fetal position. Bring your legs up to your chest and bury your head into your legs. Wrap your arms around your legs and hold on tight. You may also lie on your stomach, backpack on, and place your hands behind your neck to protect that vulnerable area. Do not play dead until the last moment. Staying on your feet may allow you to dodge, or divert an attack.
BEDFORD HEIGHTS -- A black bear cornered in a Bedford Heights tree made a dash for freedom late this afternoon and escaped his would-be captors. The bear had scrambled across the tops of near-by trees before climbing to the ground and making a dash. The bear then climbed several fences, ran through a few parking lots and disappeared. It was last seen crossing I-271 and heading into some woods.
Wild moon bears, commonly known as Asiatic black bears are caught, put in very small cages known as 'crush cages' which restricted their movement, in fact most bears live the rest of their lives on their backs. Then surgically tubes are permanent implanted into their abdomens, which is susceptible to infections and diseases to draw out, or "milk" their bile twice daily. This process is so incredibly painful to the bears that they are now gnawing off their paws and killing themselves by punching themselves in the stomach to stop the pain. Bear farmers are now fitting them with iron vests to circumvent this. It was recently reported by the Chinese press, of a mother bear who broke free from her captors, strangled her cub, then killed herself, by running head first into a concrete wall! The 'bear bile' is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat liver ailments and sore eyes. Out of the thousands of bear bile products seized by authorities last year, approximately 98 percent come from China. There are herbal and synthetic alternatives that are just as effective, and are much cheaper to buy and produce.
Bear farmers argue that by supplying the demand for bear bile their industry protects wild bears. Well, it couldn't be further from the truth. In fact wild bear bile is considered more potent, and killing wild bears is at an all time high.
Bears can be farmed for their bile for as long as 20 years, although 5 to 10 years is more the average, before they stop producing bile and are then killed/harvested. Bears are literary treated as a crop in China. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature estimates that approximately 14,000 Asiatic, Brown and Sun bears suffer this type of treatment, accounting for approximately half of the species.
Bear baiting (also called bear baying) pits a declawed and defanged bear which is chained to a stake against hunting dogs that bark and bit at it while hundreds of people watch. Spectators consider this event entertainment and hunters consider this as a training regimen for their animals.
So, while Chief Warrant Officer E.J. Murray became the first human to successfully eject from a B-58 at nonsupersonic speeds on Feb. 28, 1962, it was a 2-year-old, female black bear that made it into the history books for the first successful supersonic ejection from the aircraft. That occurred about a month later, on March 21. The bear was ejected from the plane at 35,000 feet above Edwards Air Force Base at a speed of Mach 1.3. It took nearly eight minutes for the capsule containing the bear to reach the ground safely. Statistically, the bears actually fared better than their human counterparts: While a team of humans died in an early ejection test of the B-58, no bears died during the later test runs. However, in an extremely unsettling twist, the bears were euthanized so their bodies could be examined after the ejection tests.