Bears are fascinating to people. Think of all the ways we have included them in our lives — often a child’s first toy is a teddy bear, Smokey Bear reminds us to keep our forest safe, bear hugs are thought to be the best, Big Blue Bear is beloved by millions of preschoolers and Pooh bear has movies, a clothing line and decorates more childrens rooms than any other bear. This isn’t complete list of how bears are represented in our lives, nor is it a new phenomena, our fascination with bears goes back to man’s ancient history and the evidence is in nearly every culture.
