Itchy The Bear

The term anthropomorphize refers to the act of attributing human characteristics to non-human subjects, be they animals, plants, politicians or other inanimate objects. But if ever there was a creature that was a prime candidate for anthropomorphism, it is the bear. If you are one of those people who are ardent people watchers, you would enjoy watching bears – from a safe distance, of course. Bears seem so human in so many ways.  Anyone who’s ever spent any amount of time observing bears will notice that they usually appear to be just kind of bumbling their way through life, just like so many of the humans that we all know and love. I can see myself and my friends in many of the actions and behaviors of bears.

There is no shortage of bears where our cabin is located and there are several spots that are consistently good for bear watching if you’re patient enough. Over the years, we’ve had lots of bear encounters including one time when a bear ran right into the side of our car.

We were heading home from the lake and all of a sudden my wife said, “There’s a bear!” Sure enough, a young bear had come racing out of the bush. He was heading for the highway and straight for us. So I slowed down so that he would pass in front of us. So he slowed down, too! BANG! Right into the side of the car. I watched him in the mirror. He bounced off the car, sat down in the middle of the road, shook his head (just like a human might after walking into a door) and then walked nonchalantly back into the bush. 

I pulled over and stopped to make sure the car was okay and my daughter, who was about ten at the time, went into full meltdown mode, “NO! NO! Dad! Dad! Don’t get out of the car! The bear’s going to be mad at you! The bear’s going to eat you!...” Of course, the bear was long gone and, fortunately, he hit the car right on one of the strongest points and the car was fine, too. But if it hadn’t been fine, what would you say to the insurance adjuster?

  

“What happened to the car?”

“We got hit by a bear.”

“You mean you hit a bear.”

“No, I mean we got hit by a bear.”

“Shuuuuure you did…. come with me…”

I’ve been fortunate enough to photograph many bears in the wild but this lady is by far my favorite. I nicknamed her “Itchy.” She may not look like it, but she is actually a North American Black Bear. She is what is referred to as a cinnamon black bear. She has brown fur instead of black and very long cinnamon/blond coloured fur on her back. I had never seen a cinnamon bear before and she looked very unusual. And she had a personality to match!

Itchy came rumbling through the brush one morning, stopped no more than 30 yards away, right in front of me and my camera, and proceeded to have one of the most thorough and seemingly enjoyable all-over scratching sessions of all time. She spent at least 20 minutes scratching almost every square inch of herself. She started on all fours, using her hind legs to scratch her sides and shoulders. Then she plopped down on her backside and rubbed it back and forth on the ground several times to give it a good, thorough going over. Finally, when she was finished with her backside, she started using her front feet to work on her belly and hind legs. She was hilarious to watch and it was everything I could do to keep from cracking up while I photographed her.

The interesting thing that I discovered from our photo shoot that morning was that, just like humans, bears really seem to enjoy a good scratch. Every time she started scratching, she closed her eyes real tight and kind of screwed up her face a little, just the way people do when they have one of those real good, down-to-the-bone scratches or that long, thanks-I-needed-that, early morning stretch. The only way she could have appeared more human was if she had followed up the scratch with a good, soul-cleansing belch and then picked up a cup of coffee and started reading the morning paper. Perhaps I’m anthropomorphizing here, but look closely at her face. That’s me in mid-stretch when I first get out of bed in the morning.

I was certain that she was aware of me the whole time that I was photographing her but she didn’t seem to care. The scratch was much more important – and clearly much more enjoyable. That changed when she was done with her scratch. She sat there and looked at me for several minutes (well, it seemed like several minutes) while I stood looking back at her, snapping pictures and counting the steps to my escape route. Then she cocked her head as if to say, “Hmmm, you look interesting. What are you?” and then decided that we should play a game of peek-a-boo and came over for a closer look. 

She wasn’t after a meal. She seemed more curious than anything else. But she definitely encroached on my comfort zone and that was the signal that the photo shoot was over. I quickly disappeared from sight and she soon lost interest.

I used to see her around occasionally but it’s been a while. She’s probably moved on. But I’ll not soon forget our morning in that clearing.

Of course, Itchy wasn’t the only bear I ever caught in that clearing. This lady was not as friendly or nearly as co-operative as Itchy. She didn’t get a nickname. She was, however, an excellent communicator. This is her telling me that I had come close enough and it was time to back off. One growl was all it took and I happily complied.

I don’t think that I’ll be photographing any bears this year. What with social distancing and local politicians requesting that cottagers stay away from Northern Ontario this year, it’s still unclear how often we’ll be able to get to the lake, if at all.

But, either way, I’ll always have Itchy!

I do not recommend approaching bears if you are unfamiliar with them, their habits and their behaviors. Bears are wild, and powerful, animals and can be very unpredictable. They should never be taken lightly.

All images on this site are copyrighted and are the property of Al Mechler Photography or Debbie S. Mechler Photography. Any form of copying or reproduction without consent of the owners is strictly prohibited.