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Bad Boys of the Arctic Get to Party
Apr. 2nd, 2009 04:58 pmLoved this!
(With apologies to any penguin lovers in the house. . . )
(With apologies to any penguin lovers in the house. . . )
Video of Polar Bears Playing with Huskies
Jul. 27th, 2008 07:05 amStill photos of encounters like this have been going around the internet for a couple of years, but this is the first time I've seen video.
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Animal Natures
Nov. 4th, 2007 08:05 pmAfter I made my first post about giving my daughter a new nickname and creating a new icon, a couple of people asked how someone knows if they or someone else is a particular kind of animal.
Excellent questions. Somewhat difficult to answer.
I'm going to give my perspective here. Any of my friends who feel a strong affinity with a particular animal (or bird!) are welcome to leave their own perspectives.
For me (mileage varies) it's a feeling of kinship with a particular kind of animal that relates to the species' natural characteristics and the spiritual qualities associated with it. In my case, it's bears: particularly grizzly bears, but to a lesser extent polar bears as well. Unlike some folks, I don't feel that I am a bear. I just resonate strongly with "bear energy" and find it a useful reference, like Queen of Swords.
Why bears?
Bears are solitary creatures with a strong sense of territory. They don't have packs, don't have pack politics or interdependence. They are often peaceful and low-key, unless you invade their personal space or threaten a mother bear's cubs. Then they get irate and may try to take your face off.
Spiritually, bears are associated with inner journeys and mysticism (because of the months they spend in caves, in hibernation), healing and shamanism, and motherhood. Bear people tend to be easy going until they feel their personal or physical territory has been trespassed, then they get very agitated and ill inclined to listen to reason. They are associated with quiet personal power that speaks up only when they have something important to say.
My daughter, in contrast, is a wolf. How do I know? Mostly because she tells me so through her words, her choice of toys and entertainment, and her occasional episodes of going down on all fours and howling. She is much more pack-oriented than I am, and has strong feelings of protectiveness and loyalty toward her friends and family -- which she defines rather more widely than I do.
Excellent questions. Somewhat difficult to answer.
I'm going to give my perspective here. Any of my friends who feel a strong affinity with a particular animal (or bird!) are welcome to leave their own perspectives.
For me (mileage varies) it's a feeling of kinship with a particular kind of animal that relates to the species' natural characteristics and the spiritual qualities associated with it. In my case, it's bears: particularly grizzly bears, but to a lesser extent polar bears as well. Unlike some folks, I don't feel that I am a bear. I just resonate strongly with "bear energy" and find it a useful reference, like Queen of Swords.
Why bears?
Bears are solitary creatures with a strong sense of territory. They don't have packs, don't have pack politics or interdependence. They are often peaceful and low-key, unless you invade their personal space or threaten a mother bear's cubs. Then they get irate and may try to take your face off.
Spiritually, bears are associated with inner journeys and mysticism (because of the months they spend in caves, in hibernation), healing and shamanism, and motherhood. Bear people tend to be easy going until they feel their personal or physical territory has been trespassed, then they get very agitated and ill inclined to listen to reason. They are associated with quiet personal power that speaks up only when they have something important to say.
My daughter, in contrast, is a wolf. How do I know? Mostly because she tells me so through her words, her choice of toys and entertainment, and her occasional episodes of going down on all fours and howling. She is much more pack-oriented than I am, and has strong feelings of protectiveness and loyalty toward her friends and family -- which she defines rather more widely than I do.
Wildlife Adventures
Sep. 30th, 2007 04:00 pmThanks to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pathfinder for this one:
Alaskan wolf fishes for salmon as efficiently as local bears:
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/wildlife/bears/story/9343962p-9258417c.html
Be sure to click on the photo at the top right for a series of photos.
And thanks tostrandsofchaos for this:
A bear was walking across Rainbow Bridge (Old Hwy 40 at Donner Summit, Truckee) on Saturday when two cars also crossing the bridge scared the bear into jumping over the edge of the bridge. Somehow the bear caught the ledge and was able to pull itself to safety. Authorities decided that nothing could be done to help Saturday night so they returned Sunday morning to find the bear sound asleep on the ledge. After securing a net under the bridge the bear was tranquilized, fell into the net, lowered, then woke up and walked out of the net.
( Photos of this behind the cut )
pathfinder for this one:Alaskan wolf fishes for salmon as efficiently as local bears:
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/wildlife/bears/story/9343962p-9258417c.html
Be sure to click on the photo at the top right for a series of photos.
And thanks to
strandsofchaos for this:A bear was walking across Rainbow Bridge (Old Hwy 40 at Donner Summit, Truckee) on Saturday when two cars also crossing the bridge scared the bear into jumping over the edge of the bridge. Somehow the bear caught the ledge and was able to pull itself to safety. Authorities decided that nothing could be done to help Saturday night so they returned Sunday morning to find the bear sound asleep on the ledge. After securing a net under the bridge the bear was tranquilized, fell into the net, lowered, then woke up and walked out of the net.
( Photos of this behind the cut )
Unsettling Dream: Past My Boundaries
Mar. 29th, 2007 06:29 am( I had an unsettling boundary-testing dream this morning. )
It's also only now that I think about it that I realize what differentiates this boundary-testing dream from the others is that the major threat was already in my house. It didn't have a form that I could fight or defend against. The cats and dogs were already in the house too, but I got them out of my space. The wind/force/pressure was already here and I couldn't do anything against it.
That's unsettling. I'm not letting it scare me, but it's an unsettling variation from previous dreams. Always before the opponent(s) have been outside and I've kept them out. I've fought and won. This time there was no contest. I was utterly outmatched.
What's ironic is that this dream is happening at a time when I am moving so many things in my life, including my situation vis a vis this house.
It's also only now that I think about it that I realize what differentiates this boundary-testing dream from the others is that the major threat was already in my house. It didn't have a form that I could fight or defend against. The cats and dogs were already in the house too, but I got them out of my space. The wind/force/pressure was already here and I couldn't do anything against it.
That's unsettling. I'm not letting it scare me, but it's an unsettling variation from previous dreams. Always before the opponent(s) have been outside and I've kept them out. I've fought and won. This time there was no contest. I was utterly outmatched.
What's ironic is that this dream is happening at a time when I am moving so many things in my life, including my situation vis a vis this house.
Not What I Would Have Thought. . .
Oct. 30th, 2003 05:36 pm. . . but the description actually rings pretty true.
Alligator
As Alligator's protege, you are generally quite
serene (some would say lazy), perfectly happy
to live and let live outside the pursuit of
food. However, you are very protective of your
personal space, and even more so of your own
progeny. If either of these are threatened, you
will go balls postal until the threat is
annihilated.
What Totem is Your Guardian Spirit?
brought to you by Quizilla
What's interesting (if I can use so strong a word) is that the qualities the quiz writer associates with Alligator are those which I usually associate with Bear, which is my primary totem. We Bears tend to be easy-going folks most of the time. We tend to be solitary and mind our own business. We don't get mad very often, preferring to ignore the offender in favor of focusing our energy on more pleasant things. Unless someone violates our territory or messes with our cubs. Then we go ballistic and there's not much left when we're done.
Alligator
As Alligator's protege, you are generally quite
serene (some would say lazy), perfectly happy
to live and let live outside the pursuit of
food. However, you are very protective of your
personal space, and even more so of your own
progeny. If either of these are threatened, you
will go balls postal until the threat is
annihilated.
What Totem is Your Guardian Spirit?
brought to you by Quizilla
What's interesting (if I can use so strong a word) is that the qualities the quiz writer associates with Alligator are those which I usually associate with Bear, which is my primary totem. We Bears tend to be easy-going folks most of the time. We tend to be solitary and mind our own business. We don't get mad very often, preferring to ignore the offender in favor of focusing our energy on more pleasant things. Unless someone violates our territory or messes with our cubs. Then we go ballistic and there's not much left when we're done.
