A Soft Spot for "Bub"

Uh oh...I think I may need to prepare you for a letdown but don't worry, it's a happy ending.

If you saw the title of this blog and grabbed a tissue box or a small bag of popcorn so you could settle in and read about a little bear named "Bub"...it ain't gonna happen. In fact, some of you may be shocked because I'm about to throw political correctness out the window and talk about B.U.B. - "Beautifully Ugly Bears".

And yes I've known a few.

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"Ol' Griz"

Recently I was pouring through some old files on my computer and I stumbled upon a cache of trail camera  videos I captured. The videos were taken while documenting black bears that were visiting bait sites for a population survey. It was in this cache that I found a video of Ol' Griz, an awesome specimen and the poster child for what I call a "beautifully ugly bear".

He resided in the Cherokee National Forest and was undoubtedly the monarch of the woods. And yes, he was beautifully ugly.

Ol' Griz - Monarch of Cherokee

Battle-scarred and worn, I nicknamed him Ol' Griz for he truly was the size of a grizzly and it looked like he had the temperament to boot. His sheer size would have set him apart from other bears but his uniqueness didn't stop there. His overall mass caused his body to waggle side-to-side as he lumbered through the forest. And lumber he did. He walked at a slow, deliberate pace which was compounded, or possibly caused, by a slight limp. I'm sure other bears knew he was coming simply by the way he he approached. His entrance was deliberate and kingly, always deserving of attention and respect.

Undoubtedly Ol' Griz was formidable. He had the face of a fighter, tattered ears and missing hair. I'm sure he not only doled out a couple of beatings, he probably took it on the chin a few times as well. When he entered the scene, other bears gave way. Given his stature among his kind, I have no doubt he remained the undisputed champion of the forest. And to be perfectly honest, although I love running into bears every now and then, he is one bear I am quite content with not ever having met. Ironically enough, it gave me both comfort and  torment knowing he was out there, quietly lurking in the shadows, watching over his realm.

Ol' Griz was massive. The "small" bear on the right was about 125 lbs. 

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"Spur"

It's hard to find instances of old beat up and tattered bears when reminiscing about my time at the bear center since almost all of the bears I cared for were tiny little creatures to begin with. You know the kind, the ones that automatically make you smile when you see or think about them. Now if you would please stop smiling for a moment and try to refocus so I can tell you about another kind of bear, one that is different looking but equally beautiful for his uniqueness.

Anyway, there was one bear, that I cared for that did stand out. It was because he wasn't so tiny and come to think of it, he wasn't very pretty either! But he was unique and that was what made him pretty special.

In August of 1999 the National Park Service called and asked if we could provide care for a bear that had come into their possession. What made this bear so different what is that it was not an orphan or injured cub. He was an adult male black bear that had been hit by a car just within the borders of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Given he was struck on a section of road named the "spur" (the road connected the towns of Gatlinburg and Sevierville), he was aptly named "Spur" before I ever laid eyes on him. This was probably a good thing because he too was one "ugly" bear. (Just so you know, the reason I can call him ugly without feeling guilty is because he so very much reminded me of me!)

When Spur arrived at the center the first thing I thought was "Man...he's big!"

Tipping the scales at a whopping 132 pounds made him three times the size of any bear I typically handled. So in my narrowly-focused version of what typical bears looked like, he looked "over-sized"...JUST LIKE ME.

This makes me laugh thinking about it now, especially being around other bears that were over three times the size of him, Ol' Griz for example. But his size wasn't his only distinguishing characteristic. His hair was sparse and thinning...JUST LIKE ME.

NOT Spur...but this is a spitting image of him..

His hair loss may have been his way of coping with the intense summer heat or he possibly could have been overcoming the latter stages of mange. Assuredly it was not middle-aged male pattern baldness that so many of us suffer from (cough, cough). Regardless of the circumstance, he was one of those bald-looking bears. Add to the fact that much of his lower half was shaved during the veterinarian examination and you have one really awkward looking nekkid bear.

But he was also behaviorally awkward. Don't get me wrong, he behaved exactly like a wild bear should but given the circumstances of suddenly being placed in a cage, he knew there was something better "outside" the cage but didn't know how to get there. This made him quietly amble about the pen daftly looking around which gave the impression of him being aloof...JUST LIKE ME.

In all honesty, I think he was deep in bear-thought trying to figure out how to get out so he was probably way smarter than people gave him credit for....JUST LIKE ME. (Sorry I couldn't help that one!)

Anyway, Spur only stayed at the center for about two weeks until we were sure he was fully recovered from the accident and was not suffering from internal injuries. Fortunately he wasn't. We released him pretty much in the same location from whence he came.

Soon after, I too remember thinking about running into him as I wandered through the forest. Yes, even though I considered him to be a an "ugly" bear, It pleased me back then much as it does now to know he was out there.

And that my friends is the grandeur of the untamed wild. The fact that deep in the shadows you may someday run into a "beautifully ugly bear". They are, by far, my favorite kind!