Smiling Bears

Else Poulsen holds a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences. She has worked at the Calgary and Detroit zoos and is known internationally for her captive bear husbandry and rehabilitation. In 2000 she won the Zookeeper Research Excellence Award from the American Zoo and Aquarium Association’s Bear Taxon Advisory Group. She works as an animal management consultant for zoos, sanctuaries, wildlife rehabilitators, and other animal welfare groups and lives in southern Ontario.

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

Biological scientist and bear expert Else Poulsen reveals a few mysteries about the emotional characters she describes in her book Smiling Bears.

Do bears actually smile?

Yes, they do. It’s often difficult to see their smile because they have such big noses and their heads hang over their mouths. Bears smile—for bear reasons—when they are self-satisfied. I have observed bears smile as a greeting when I or other bears show up, when I give them favorite treats, when they are playing or are watching others play, or simply when they are relaxing and soaking up the sun.

Do bears really have emotions?

Yes, we can assume that bears have a wide and complex range of emotion from happiness, gratitude, and joy to jealousy, sadness, and loss that they – like humans - express physically through facial expression, body and verbal language. For example; an annoyed bear may hang his head, form a point with his upper lip, fur¬row his brow and stare at you.

How do bears communicate?

Bears use behavior, facial expression, body and vocal language to communicate just like humans. They can make a sound that coupled with body language can mean one or a number of things – like a word. Several sounds can be strung together to give further meaning – like a sentence. Nature clearly selects for cross-species communication. A deer that doesn’t understand what a couple of wolves are doing when they are exhibiting stalking behavior and vocals is a dead deer. We share some of our body language with bears. For instance, when a bear wants something right here, right now he will pick up his front foot and pad it on the ground once or several times. If you want your pet dog to come and sit next to you on the couch – you will pat the seat next to you with your hand while calling your pet’s name. Ever wonder why you do that?

Isn’t that anthropomorphizing – putting human feelings onto animals?

Historically, humans have supposed that only we have emotions because an emotion is such a difficult thing to prove scientifically. But humans share all their other attributes with animals such as anatomy, social structure, and communication that it is unrealistic to think that emotions are somehow an exception to the rule. While it is not yet within our realm to know what it feels like to be a bear, it isn’t within our realm to know what it feels like to be your human neighbor either.

 WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT SMILING BEARS