We relate our experiences our history and relationships, including our relationships with nature and the natural world through stories. Bears have been part of our stories and myths from our beginnings. The Bear in Nature, Myth and Literature. Bear myths and rituals, they conclude, center on the theme of renewal, including the reincarnation of the soul, the symbolic replenishment of food, the passage of initiation, or the renewal of clan power.
Bears are the symbolic image of brave deeds.
As a curator responsible for the stewardship of bears, I have some bear stories to tell about the relationships between these wonderful animals and ourselves. I fell in love with bears when I was working for John and Frank Craighead as a student assistant in the Yellowstone Grizzly Project 30 years ago. Each day we would go out and radiotrack bears and we spent long hours watching them. But there is nothing more up-front and personal than a close encounter. When bears are startled they may stand up and look around, as we all know.