Being an Animal Is a Lot of Work

Watch a grey squirrel run in its rapid, skittish way; see it pause to dig the soil a bit; notice how it takes a nut between its front paws and nibbles it gone.  This may take 45 seconds.Then observe the squirrel doing this for several hours.  In between search and seizures, the squirrel may pause to flick its tail rapidly to express anxiety or concern about a development she's unsure of: the shadow of a large wing, an ominous shape creeping through the brush, an invasion by a food-competing squirrel.  

If it hasn't been done already, the squirrel may have to spend 10-12 hours constructing a leaf nest, used for sleeping, for shelter from inclement weather, for raising young.  Most squirrels construct three or more nests in different locations, and need to clean and maintain each routinely . . . in between finding and consuming food, some of which was gathered and stored in literally hundreds of locations in the squirrel's habitat range.

Black, brown and grizzly bears, however, have not evolved to be gatherers and hoarders; so what food they consume daily must be located and consumed daily.  This means nonstop work, especially in autumn when bears need to put on as much weight as possible, ideally three pounds a day for 2-4 months for a grizzly, so winter denning is successful.

Bears are omnivores.  They eat anything from dandelions to ants to bison, from winter carrion to bird eggs to gooseberries. The eclectic nature of their consumption habits may have evolved as a result of needing to eat so much to survive, and all of it is work.

Work, n.  physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something.

I was viewing "Bears in Banff National Park," a short video attached to a CBC story from Alberta, Canada.  In it, Andrew Evans, a Digital Nomad with National Geographic, paused at a "bear jam" or traffic jam outside Banff, caused by humans who pulled over to obverse bears along the side of the road.  One of the grizzlies was eating gooseberries from a bush (while tourist cameras and smart phones clicked away).  

After the bear ambled away, Digital Nomad Evans walked over and plucked some berries. His nose wrinkled as he swallowed their juices, then commented, "You respect wildlife more when you eat what they eat.  Food is so easy for people, and when you come out here, you realize that being an animal is a lot of work."

Acknowledging this matters because it gives reason to respect those crows landing en masse in a cornfield, to respect the mouse chewing a hole through a garbage bag, to admire a hawk swooping down rapidly to clench a starling in its talons, to regard with awe the incredible work a single honey bee hive accomplishes.  Being an animal is a lot of work. Let's respect them for it.