A Beary Happy Ending

John Muir - 1907 -

"Bears are not companions of men, but children of God, and His charity is broad enough for both... We seek to establish a narrow line between ourselves and the feathery zeros we dare to call angels, but ask a partition barrier of infinite width to show the rest of creation its proper place. Yet bears are made of the same dust as we, and breathe the same winds and drink of the same waters. A bears days are warmed by the same sun, his dwellings are overdomed by the same blue sky, and his life turns and ebbs with heart-pulsings like ours and was poured from the same fountain....." ~ John Muir ~

Scottish-born American, John Muir, naturalist and ecologist will always be remembered as a spiritual advocate for the preservation of wildnerness, which earned him the title, "The Father of our National Parks."

Today, his legacy provides a basis for thoughtful land conservation providing protected habitats for creatures great and small.

Once in a while, those creatures venture into man’s territory, which unfortunately happens more often as rural areas develop and spread into cities.

Such is the story that was captured on the video below last spring by the Ventura County Star; a Cinnamon black bear had made it’s way into the town of Oxnard, California, only to find itself in a bit of a jam as it climbed a tree using it’s short non-retractable claws, most likely in search of food. (Black bears are notorious for their constant foraging.)

It’s estimated that about 300,000 black bears populate the United States, and for the most part are solitary and rather docile animals, despite their size, which varies from two to three feet in height (at shoulders) and four to seven feet in length from the tip of the nose to the tail. The weight of male bears spans 150 to a whopping 600 pounds, while females tend to be smaller overall in size, but still look formidable when found wandering in a human setting.

Fortunately, for the 200 pound black bear in this story, some alert game wardens and the local fire department took time to rescue the bear and relocate it back into a forest habitat.

It’s not that often that animals this size get a second chance - John Muir must have been smiling down that day.