Land of the Bears Page #5

and they will come back to

the same place in five years -

a never-ending cycle of life.

For the bears,

the red salmon are a sign

that the end is near -

the end of summer,

the end of salmon season.

Now they know that they have to

eat as fast as they can,

stuff themselves,

and feed their cubs.

They must get ready

for the coming winter.

So all around the lake,

they fish relentlessly,

pressed for time.

Downstream, all the salmon

are gone from the big river.

The bears head for the lake.

The aggressive yearlings

arrive,

ready to fight

and start trouble.

But there's not many fish

left here either.

So all the bears gather where

there are still a few salmon.

The young male,

the mothers and the cubs

are lost amongst

the teenage bears

and the hordes of other bears.

Soon the bears will have to go

beyond the trees,

further upstream into the

smaller branches of the river

to find the last

remaining salmon.

There are so many bears...

...so few fish.

Bears are solitary

most of the year.

They're not used to

close contact.

Here, they're crowded together.

But the only real solidarity

is between the mothers

and their cubs.

In the middle of irritated

and aggressive bears

trying to feed one last time,

the mother has to fish

and keep an eye on her cubs

at the same time.

And, as if that wasn't enough,

two orphans with scraggly fur

arrive.

They don't have a mother

to fish for them.

The only way they get food

is by stealing it

from younger cubs.

Unlike the males, the mother

not only has to fight for fish,

but must defend

and protect her cubs.

It is this instinct alone

that makes her even stronger.

The young bear feels lost

in the middle of

all this aggression.

But he seems more interested

in the young female

than in finding food.

The bears that couldn't -

or didn't want to -

fight until the very end

feed off of rotten fish

along the river.

Unlike the young bear, survival

is their number one priority.

The salmon's arduous journey

has come to an end.

One generation dies

so that another may live.

Other salmon will come back

and other bears

will feed on them.

As long as the salmon continue

to make their long journey,

the bears will fiercely rule

this wild land

still untouched by man.

That's the life of a bear,

with all its sublime absurdity,

because, actually, all they do

is spend their lives

trying to survive winter,

recover from winter,

prepare for winter,

and doing it all over again.

But what could be more

beautiful than these creatures,

their serenity?

And the strength, tenacity,

persistence and determination

they employ to survive?

A few days later, the rivers

are completely empty.

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