More on Grizzlies

The day after we returned from our trip to Yellowstone we had an opportunity to attend a great lecture by Charlie Russell (not the artist, but the 'Bear Guy.") It was held at the Museum of the Rockies Auditorium in Bozeman.

Mr. Russell talked at length about his aspirations to show that Grizzlies are not necessarily the mean spirited "Ogre's" that public AND professional lore makes them out to be. He feels that it is the human element that leads us to approach all relations with bears as necessarily hostile; we expect meanness and we respond with fear, cruelty and our own brand of meanness. Charlie showed us many slides depicting his experiences with bears, first as a bear guide in British Columbia and then during a decade or more in Northwest Russia. He went there because of the supply of grizzlies AND an absence of regulations controlling what humans can, and cannot, do when interacting with bears. He actually bought orphaned cubs from organizations that had them caged, where they would have died had he not taken them into the wilderness. Almost all of them survived. I think he said the only one he lost was killed by a predatory male grizzly.

Here is a quote from an entry on Charlie's website that seems to explain his motives and his conclusions; ".......I have devoted much of the last 45 years to understanding bears; figuring out what they are capable of with regarding getting along with us. The answer is that they have no problem at all as long as we follow a few simple rules. I found that if we manage food and waste so bears can't get into it and treat the bears with respect , they are wonderfully easy animals to get along with. Teaching respect does not mean being violent with them in any way....."
The operative word, which he stressed over and over is '(mutual) RESPECT."

There is no way to describe the entire lecture and the fascinating experiences Mr. Russell shared with us through his talk and his many slides. The best way to learn more about this great AND successful experiment is to view Charlie Russell's website. Some of the photos showing him with bears are truly amazing, and humorous. He has produced a 95-minute DVD, which I purchased but have not had time to view. I plan to soon. A photo gallery
shows a number of slides of his Russian camp and lots of bear shots. If you see these links, I hope you will enjoy and gain a greater appreciation for the REALITY of bear/man relationships.
(Caution AND RESPECT seem to go hand in hand.) (Some photos from the website follow;