Black Bears

[Tshokwane]

Credits to Bill Lea.

Looks can be soooo deceiving and misinterpreted - especially if it is a look on a black bear's face!!!


I love this bear - his name is Patch Jr. Patch is a big male and he LOVES the water, especially on a hot summer afternoon. He often goes and sits in the water of a shallow creek in an effort to cool-off. If the bugs are bad he goes into a culvert and just hangs-out. He barely fits or should I say he "bearly" fits? He is totally content spending an hour or more in the culvert. Sometimes he unintentionally startles other bears when they come down to the creek to get a drink near the culvert where he often resides. Sometimes they huff and blow a bit when surprised at the presence of such a big bear so close-by. But Patch takes it all in stride and never responds. He just remains cool - in more ways than one.

Although Patch is kind of a hulk of a bear, he has a very mild disposition. He gets along well with other bears and is more than willing to share the creek. So, the very intense and actually somewhat intimidating look on Patch's face in tonight's photo comes as a bit of a surprise to me. In the hands of the wrong person, such a photo could be used to mislead others about the gentle nature of this bear and others. So why such an intense look from Patch???? He was watching a dragonfly trying to catch mosquiotes fluttering back and forth right in front of his face. 

Yes!! When it comes to bears, a single photo can be very deceiving and misleading, but Patch and I know better..... and now, so do you.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Reply