Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Spirit Bear of the Great Bear Rainforest
Hi kids,
The Spirit Bear or Kermode or moskgm'ol white bear lives in the spectacularly beautiful and wild northern coastal regions of B.C. Recently, the Nature Conservancy campaigned to protect this area. They succeeded in having five million acres of the Great Bear Rain Forest protected from logging. 19 million more are under strict land management guidelines, called ecosystem based management. (I wish EVERY place was under ecosystem based management.)
Aboriginal peoples attach great significance to the appearance of these white creatures, whether bears, buffalo calves, lions and others, believing they appear as a spiritual message to humankind to protect what is being destroyed. They believe these creatures carry mystical, prophesied and vitally important messages, in an effort to wake us from our lethargy in the face of the destruction of the natural world.
We are living with the results of this lethargy now, and continue sleeping at our peril.
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Bless you for this new round of articles.
ReplyDeleteFirst I read the article and left a comment, then I went back and watched the video ... how lovely and hoe beautiful was the incorporation of Raven.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful bear. I have never heard of this species of bear--are they all white? Or is this like the occasional light colored grizzly? A relative of the polar bear? What a powerful creature. I enjoyed the video.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful creature. The video was amazing. I always marvel that someone can get close enough to film a wild animal just going about his day.
ReplyDeleteLast week my sister camped in the wilds of Clayoquot Sound with her friend who is a wildlife photographer. They were where wolves had been sighted. Mike set up his tripod and howled. The wolves howled back, and came. He stood in the water taking photos and my sister sat on the shore holding the boat rope. A wolf passed within fifteen feet of her. They were not bothered in the slightest having humans in their space. I so longed to have been there. I miss my wolf so much!
ReplyDeleteFantastic article and the video was splendid. I too loved the incorporation of Raven into the scheme of things. I envy anyone who can do wildlife photography. An old dream.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth