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What builds a bear? And no I do not mean Build-A-Bear Workshop in which the answer would be a combination of love and stuffing. The Bestiary explains how mother bears — literally— shape their children, how the process of pregnancy is, their favorite foods, healing tactics, and more. However, many of the claims fail to be scientifically accurate; therefore, if you will bear with me through this process, I will show you the building blocks of the bear.
Bodleian Library MS. Bodl. 764, fol. 22v
Now, when I refer to the Bestiary I am referring to the Bodleian version because there are in fact many! This dictionary-esque book was originally created as a way to connect spiritual meaning to animals; and while the book gave descriptions of a mass variety, the structure in which they are presented is just as important as the non-scientific facts it presents too. The animals are mentioned in a power based categorical order of beasts, birds, and then reptiles and fish. Within each description too there are tiers for the revelation of information and it all ties back to us, humans, just before the entries close with a moral lesson. As you can see there are many layers within the creation of the Bestiary and I am going to dive into those surrounding the entry of the bear.
The entry about the bear is rather focused on the process of its birth. Rather than providing an elaborate description on its physical features, it explains how the origin of its name refers to the fact that the mother bear licks her cubs into their form for they are first born as “lumps of flesh” (Barber 58). This unique technique is mentioned a second time in its description which emphasizes how this is a key element to the bear.
In addition to examining what the bears do after birth, let’s first look at what they do beforehand. The timeframe of pregnancy and birth is claimed to be an extremely short lasting thirty days which leads to why the cubs come out shapeless. Birth often occurs during the winter time. Although the specific term of hibernation is not mentioned, it is indeed alluded to as the text describes how the bears eat less food, if any, while they are in a deep sleep hiding away for months during the winter time.
Visit bestiary.ca/beasts/beastgallery171.htm for a closer look at the abundace of images of the bear shaping its kin
Due to the significance of the entry about the care the mother provides for her cubs, I interpreted this as a strong family dynamic within this species. In addition, it also mentions how the "males respect the pregnant females, and if they live in the same cave, they occupy separate lairs" (Barber 59). This provides insight that bears are considerate and loving. Because I had this in mind, it was disconcerting that when I approached the end of the entry it read that the "bear signifies the devil, ravager of the flocks of our lord, and unjust rulers" (Barber 60). With the majority of the description providing perspective of how family-centered the bears are, like humans, I did not see a sufficient explanation for the provided religious meaning which ultimately led to a moral unfitting of this beast. Where is the correlation between the support of creation of life and being the destruction of those following God? Aren't the bears closer to God's work with creating life?
Just as the bears are inadequately linked to the devil in the text, in present day bears are often linked with a similar fearful quality from a human perspective.
Samsung. "Bear Does Laundry - Samsung Washing Machine Commercial (funny)." Youtube, uploaded by FreshRandomVids, 11 February 2013, https://youtu.be/993ForRDhwI
Morgan_winz. "I kept saying that bear is acting like a man in a bear suit." TikTok, 8 October 2020, https://www.tiktok.com/@morgan_winz/video/6881397954398129414?sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6884696598024111621&is_from_webapp=1
In both videos above the presence of the bears creates fear amongst the humans yet the bears themselves — fictional and nonfictional — are not doing any action that threatens a human. Rather the bears are acting very similar to humans as they do their laundry or search for food while accidentally locking themselves in a car during the process. While one could argue that the bears are causing chaos by disrupting the filming and by going inside a truck, ultimately the bears are keeping to themselves during their actions and do not attack or intentionally cause fear.
Luckily bears are not always viewed as devil-like scary beasts. For example, Whinnie the Pooh, Paddington Bear, Yogi Bear, Care Bears, and more are all versions that create a much more positive light surrounding bears. Stuffed animals, cartoons, amusement park rides, books, and collectibles all exist around this lovable animal that shares many humanistic features with us. In these instances it is clear that even if bears do not actually shape their cubs, they do have a family-friendly ambiance to them.
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