There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
Tracking Gobi Grizzlies.
The claws told the same story of life in this environment as the teeth did. On a typical Ursus arctos, those nails would be three inches longer and tapered to a sharp point. But this bear's were cracked, chipped, and stubby, and less than half the usual length. They can keep growing back of course, but I wasn't expecting mazaalai claws to be long and sharp anymore, not on animals that spend a lifetime walking over stone and digging through gravel to get plant roots and burrowing rodents. An adult's teeth look as they do because they don't grow back even though the bear goes through the rest of its life unavoidably chewing on chunks of sand and mineral grit along with much of its food from the desert's floor. The foot pads that had carried this female across so many miles of sharply eroded stones and burning hot gravels were cracked and worn smooth in places, yet surprisingly soft and supple. The more I examined them, the closer I felt to her, because of the resemblance of the bottoms of her front feet to human palms and the way the elongated soles of her rear feet reminded me of my own.
Bears of the Himalayan Mountains
