Brown Bear Directory

[brotherbear]

~~... continued ... One bear stands out from the rest of the grizzlies in the valley because of his unique character and appearance. In his younger years he looked comical - or maybe quirky. A large dark head with happy eyes and a long snout was attached to a blondish beige body. From this immature lean body extended the longest, fuzziest, dark brown front legs we had ever seen on a bear. His hind end and legs were skinny and gangly. He looked as if Mother Nature had placed all her leftover parts together to produce him. We would see him striding down the shoreline with his ears slightly back, always with the corners of his mouth upturned as if he were smiling and up to mischief. For this reason we called him Yogi.He was the instigator of fun with other bears. We often saw him in a group of newly weaned juveniles, provoking play fights and chases. ( After their mother abandons them, young bears often team together to survive. ) Yogi led his "gang of four"- another male and two females - for miles to check out new territory. They would walk up one side of the inlet from the estuary, swim across, and then walk down the other side, eating grass and exploring everything as they went. Yogi was the ringleader and teacher for the others, never showing aggression, just light-hearted play that would benefit him and the others later in their lives.Whenever a larger bear entered their territory, they would simply run as fast as they could. If an adult male grizzly catches a young bear, he will kill it, but young bears that are on the ground can usually escape.Bears are solitary by nature, however, and the Gang of Four drifted apart in their four-year-old season. If they meet again, it will be to mate or fight.By his third summer, Yogi's body had matuered and he was showing signs of becoming one of the dominant males in the valley, weighing approximately 650 pounds and standing roughly four feet to the top of his shoulder muscle hump. An aura of confidence radiated from him as he proudly strode down the shoreline. 
~~Another day we see him playing with a lone wolf. The wolf skulks up to Yogi, low to the ground, then stops and stares at him. Yogi stares back, takes a step toward the wolf, and gives a single low huff. The wolf bolts, only to turn and repeat the game. There is no aggression or fright on either animal's part. Instead, two of the most feared creatures in North America appear to be enjoying each other's company, and they continue to play for fifteen minutes. ( Bears and wolves do seem to live companionably in the Khutzeymateen Valley without feeling the need to defend their territory from the other species. ) 
~~Since then, Yogi has steadily grown and physically changed into a mature, prominent bear. His legs remain long, and he has filled out to an impressive weight of approximately 900 pounds, with a two-foot-wide head and a height of about five feet to the top of his hump. He has lovely chestnut brown fur from head to toe. Although Yogi has grown into a massive bear, he remains the amiable, curious, polite bear we first met, with a mischievous twinkle in his placid eyes and a sneaky instigator grin on his beautiful soft face.   
~~Fortress of the Grizzlies by Dan Wakeman and Wendy Shymanski - Bears of the Khutzeymateen

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