Orbs 'r' Us

BEAR NIGHTMARES!

Last night I had my reoccurring dream about "The Bear"! I'm always trying to get away but my feet are like I'm running in mud! All I can feel is this bears hot breath on my neck and the doomed feeling that I won't get away! I always wake in a cold sweat.

WARNING...maybe too graphic for some...continue at your own risk!

This stems from an incident from my childhood...one that my sister Buttons and I shared. I was either 7 or 8 yrs old at the time and she was 6 or 7?

We used to live next door to Edmonchuk's first zoo. It was located about a half a mile from our house and it was a park/zoo that boasted one of the city's first pool [where we swam competitively].

Way back then parents weren't afraid for their children [or at least mine weren't] if they went that far away, by themselves, to play in the park.

This park was also home to many wild[?] animals and was called the Borden Park Zoo, which by way opened in 1909. The Zoo was part of the Exhibition grounds. This Exhibition used to have a permanent Carousel [now permanently located at Fort Edmonton Park] and Roller Coaster. We had fun as kids playing on these attractions on their off seasons. If our parents only knew how close we came sometimes in killing ourselves, they would have locked us in our rooms!

Anyways back to the bear story...

Buttons and I liked saving crusts of bread, food scraps, etc to feed the birds and animals there. These animals got to know who we were and I remember the joy of being able to feed them. The zoo caretakers got used to seeing us there also and never worried about us...because we were always careful and never mean to the animals.

The zoo was in the process of closing down [official date was 1954] and the animals were slowly being relocated to the new zoo far away. It took many years to accomplish this. With it being partially closed there weren't too many visitors as before so the security wasn't that great.

One of our favorite attractions was the bear...
To us this guy was really cute and just loved the scraps that we used to bring him. He was our "live" Teddy Bear! We even called him Teddy and thought he would be a nice pet! He would even let us rub his nose through the mesh fence, licking our fingers. When I think about it now we were very foolish thinking this bear could be tame enough to be considered a pet!

The only sad thing was that some of the kids and some adults used to tease Teddy a lot. They would bang on the fence, poke sticks at him and generally make his life hell.

Way back then the animal enclosures weren't as safe as they are now and contact with Teddy was pretty easy. His enclosure consisted of a fence and a mound of dirt that was his sleeping den or a place to get out of the weather. This mound of dirt wasn't very well protected and it's fence wasn't very high. The mound was constructed in such a way that the bear wasn't able to climb it to get out so everyone felt safe?

Trouble was the fence wasn't high enough to keep others from getting in and torment him by throwing stuff down on him.

One day Buttons and I had collected enough scraps that we decided to go and visit our animal friends. We could hear the screams as we got closer to the bear enclosure! There were hysterical people all around, wailing and crying. Above this turmoil you could hear Teddy roaring! Wiggling and squirming, Buttons and I managed to worm our way to the fence to see what was going on!

I'll never forget that sight as long as I live!

There was our "cute" bear throwing his head back and forth sideways, roaring in rage, with what looked like a red doll in his mouth. It was like watching a dog tear apart one of it's toys! All I remember most about the scene was how red it was and how the "doll's" legs swung wildly around! It was like watching a gore scene from a movie...stuff was flying everywhere!

Somehow a young girl had climbed the fence and had fallen into the bears enclosure! Teddy had immediately attacked her and was busy tearing her apart! I guess all of his rage at being tormented all those years was too much for him and he was now taking his revenge!

The bear handlers where trying to get him to let go of the poor girl and were jabbing him with their long sticks...to no avail. He wasn't about to let her go! Finally a shot rang out and he fell to the ground! Only he didn't die right away! It took a few more shots to kill him!

Only it was too late for the little girl!

It was a nightmare scene... too much for two young girls to take in! Both Buttons and I walked home hugging each other and crying hysterically! Forever to have our thoughts changed about bears! "Teddy" was now to be our nightmare!

Our mom was livid when she found out what had happened! We never went back to the zoo! In fact I think they moved it out faster after that! The new zoo opened in 1959 and I believe it took quite a few years before it ever hosted bears again.

We both had nightmares about it for years. I still do!

Through the years this event really affected me and has forever changed the thoughts I have about "Teddy Bears".

This toy misleads children into thinking all bears are cute and cuddly creatures! Their killer instinct is down-played too much! I know now that "Teddy" wasn't solely to blame and that all bears should not carry his misdeed. Wild animals were meant to be free...after all "it is the nature of the beast". I just think it's dangerous to lead children astray knowing the beasts true nature!

Today...if I know that there are bears in the area...I return home. I have been driven out of my favorite camping area because the bears that live in that area started getting too close for my comfort!

It was even scary hearing that there used to be "Prairie" Bears in this area! Thankfully they don't exist anymore!