There is a story behind every picture I take. This one is different from most of what I have photographed.
It was a beautiful, sunny day. Everyone at Keystone Safari was enjoying themselves, including these two bears. Surprisingly, a small crowd started to gather. It is not every day that anyone sees two large animals in the throws of passion, especially out in the open and in full view like these two were.
The adults of the group stood silently in reverent respect to the lovefest happening before our eyes. I thought it weird that so many people are into animal voyeurism. These bears were not putting on that great of a show. They looked like they were stuck in a wrestling move, more than anything, ah, sensual.
One girl in the audience must have thought the same. “They’re fighting,” she would loudly exclaim to her mother. No one bothered to correct her, content that the child had come up with her own explanation of what we were witnessing. Bear lust, or bear wrestling according to the girl, is rather boring. The crowd would dissipate before anyone knew who the “winner” was.
I am unsure if this reveals too much about me, but I rather enjoy the memory of this picture. It was something unexpected during our time at this zoo. Part of travel is experiencing the unexpected and seeing new things, and we certainly accomplished that on this day. Plus, hearing an innocent child trying to figure out what was happening added a touch of humour to the whole event.
