These events were recorded in Megillas Esther, and are well known to all. The wicked man rules refers to Haman. Over a poor people refers to Yisrael, who were impoverished from mitzvos. The bear, the embodiment of the force of Persia, was formerly a widespread creature. Israel's subspecies of the grizzly bear was known as the Syrian bear, and its last member was killed in Nachal Ammud, near the Kinneret, in 1865.
Bears are highly dangerous creatures.
Unlike other predators, such as lions and leopards, which attack only when hungry, bears are actually aggressive and kill people regularly. Bear cubs are astonishingly small, weighing only three hundred grams, and utterly helpless. The mother bear invests enormous effort into raising her cubs and forms an especially close bond with them. She is thus a particularly protective mother and a highly dangerous foe. The males are vicious, too, in their fight with other bears to secure a mate.