The Bare Facts on Bear Tours
A long time ago, a US president – Theodore Roosevelt – popularised bears, and immortalised his own name, as toy versions became known as “Teddy Bears”. Those long-ago events have a relevance to today’s world and modern, specialised bear tours.
Bear histories
Prior to the President’s popularisation of bears, humanity had regarded them as things to be feared and hunted. Some were used for so-called ‘sport’ (bear baiting) and some were held in the rudimentary zoos of the time. The change in awareness was, on the whole, a good thing for the bear (at least in the western world – in other parts of the globe little changed initially), but not entirely. Bears began to be seen as ‘cuddly’ almost pet-like creatures and this increased public demand to see them in zoos. Although things improved during the 20th century, many zoos continued to hold bears in accommodation that was unsuitable and in some cases, inadequate.
Modern bear tours
The good news is that things are improving in terms of the way many people perceive these magnificent creatures. Today, there is far more emphasis on preservation of their natural environment (though things are far from perfect and some bear populations remain under environmental pressure) and seeing bears in their own habitat, rather that in zoo enclosures.
If you decide to take a holiday on specialised bear tours, you’ll have plenty to choose from.
For example, there are tours to Spitsbergen, which is a large island in the Arctic Circle and part of Norway. You’ll be able to see polar bears in a way that you will never see them in a zoo – however well designed and equipped. There are no less than six national parks with a vast range of unique flora and fauna – though many lovers of this unique landscape would probably privately admit that the bears are most people’s favourites!
Of course, even in summertime, the Arctic Circle may be a little cold for some, in which case there are many other destinations and species to discover. Just a small sample of these include:
• Canada – where you’ll be able to encounter grizzly bears in British Columbia and elsewhere (in Canada, you may also be able to combine polar bear tours with watching Beluga whales);
• Finland – where you can sit in a forest hide and hope to spot the unique European Brown Bear.
Doing more
Of course, your holidays don’t have to be entirely passive. As mentioned, bears in many parts of the world remain exploited and under pressure, so, for example, you could take a working holiday in Cambodia helping to care for bears that have been recovered from poachers and other illegal sources. It’s hard but rewarding work and something that’s very different. As well as being extremely good fun, bear tours can help you to get a totally different perspective on one of nature’s most fascinating creatures.
Paul Stanbury is the Operations Manager for Naturetrek, a tour operator specialising in expert-led natural history and bear tours worldwide. Naturetrek bring over 25 years of experience to their bear tours in some of the most spectacular regions on Earth.
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