It was just tragic. A bear gets ready for a long lovely winter’s nap, putting on hundreds of pounds in preparation, the weather gets colder, the days shorter, AND he just got his ration of hay for the winter to prepare his den. It snows, an early snow. Everything is just right. Then it happened. Earthfire received a call from a Danish artist doing a project for the Danish Cultural Ministry. She was producing a special show on humans interacting with wildlife. She needed a black bear – a large one. We were highly recommended…could we please (but they hate going out in the snow) just a couple of hours… (but he’s sleepy)… please please, we won’t make any demands of him, all you have to do is just sit with him on the ground; it will help foster your educational mission; it will promote international bear understanding (well if you come right away and it really is just an hour).

And so it happened. We arrived at the door to his den bearing fresh blueberries, calling him to the Wildlife Garden. What was a bear to do? We expected him to walk on SNOW. It was simply awful. But then there were those sweet juicy berries. But then it was cold (notwithstanding the fact that he was well-insulated with fat to about 30 below). It was wet. His paws were tender. He wanted to go home. He whined, a truly pathetic sound. He walked carefully, delicately placing each paw on the ground and picking it up as soon as possible while still trying to walk slowly and somehow keep four paws off the ground at the same time, trying to manage this feat while sleepy. And then – they wanted him to SIT in the stuff! No way. He absolutely refused. No enticements worked. Not even close. The artist was desperate. The hour was up. Then brainstorming. We brought in a bale of fresh hay and spread it out, making a nice soft little dry spot in the vast horrible whiteness. Eyes opened wide. Beeline. He rushed over (relatively speaking) and sat down without asking. Parked himself, actually. Jean walked over and sat next to him and they had a marshmallow picnic in the snow as a reward.

It is rough, being an ambassador.

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