|
Paula and her cub Racer Page 3 of 3
One morning we noticed Paula and Racer near the mouth of the river. Paula was lying down on her belly, resting her chin on her arm, with her eyes open. Racer was nearby in some shallow water, scanning around but not really looking like he was doing much serious fishing. We decided to cross the river, and get up onto the sandbank where Paula was lying down. We crossed the knee deep water, always surprised at how strong the current is – and how effortlessly the bears walk through it. While we crossed, Racer walked back over to his mom. I immediately felt a pang of guilt – did we disturb Racer? Did we make him uncomfortable, so he went closer to mom for reassurance and security. I couldn’t have been more wrong, because while I was thinking this Paula rolled over onto her back and Racer climbed up on her belly and began nursing. It turns out they were both comfortable enough to nurse next to us.
We knelt down in the sand, feeling privileged to watch the two of them. Racer’s body looked huge from that angle, and he didn’t appear all that much smaller than Paula. He would occasionally glance up at us while he nursed, his big brown eyes looking up from lunch. Paula appeared equally relaxed and eventually Racer climbed down, sleepy and calm.
Racer reclined onto his back. He noticed a bright green piece of sea lettuce on the sand, hung his head upside down to grab it, and proceeded to nibble at it with his lips. He stretched out his legs letting one of them rest on top of Paula’s back. He then kicked his legs around in the air, trying to get comfortable. He used one hand to scratch around his belly. He looked so human, the dexterity of his hands resembling a primate or a person. Using one finger and one nail he repeatedly scratched the same spot over and over again, making me wonder if he had an itchy mosquito bite that he couldn’t leave alone. His small penis lolled off to one side of his distended belly as he drifted off to sleep, leg perched up on Paula like she was an ottoman, a slip of seaweed stuck to his snout. It was about as adorable as a bear can get, and Racer looked as relaxed as any bear I’ve ever seen. He has it easy, I thought, compared to a third summer cub that might have spent the whole summer alone and fending for himself.
© 2008 Jessica Teel |
||
