Why It Sucks to Be Born as a Brown Bear

you wake up well not really you're born but that's just another way of saying you're suddenly here crammed into a dark warm Den with your siblings squirming around like oversized hamsters your mom hasn't eaten in months yet here she is feeding and keeping you alive with whatever strength she's got left you you're blind helpless and unaware that the forest outside would chew you up and spit you out if given half a chance for weeks life is simple you squeak you sleep but winter doesn't last forever and neither does this cozy setup one day your mom

decides to time she claws open the den light floods in and you're dragged into the blinding brightness of spring the world is big loud and smells like a thousand things you don't understand trees Loom overhead snow melts underfoot and your siblings tumble around like drunks on a dance floor you realize quickly that you're small weak and very very edible your mom's job isn't to make you feel safe it's to make you strong from day one she's teaching you what it takes to survive and the lessons aren't subtle she smells danger before you do here's threats

you can't even imagine one afternoon while you're walking around chewing on a twig she freezes her head snaps up nostrils flaring and then you hear it a low guttural growl wolves they jump out of the bushes foaming out of their mouth their eyes locked on you and your siblings you're too scared to move but Mom she moves like a l slide she rears up Roars so loud it shakes the trees and charges the Wolves don't back away they're hungry but she doesn't give them a choice her claws flash blood sprays and one of them goes

down the others hesitate just long enough for her to send them running she returns turns to you panting fur matted with blood and nudges you back towards safety it's not a tender moment it's a warning pay attention or next time you'll be the one bleeding out in the dirt by summer you're starting to figure things out you watch Mom dig up Roots rip apart logs for insects and dive into rivers to snatch salmon with terrifying Precision you try to imitate her but it's a process your first attempt at fishing ends with you face first in

the river splashing around like an idiot while the fish swim away unbothered mom just stands on the side probably wondering how she gave birth to something this pathetic the forest doesn't wait for you to catch up it's cruel fast and indifferent and if you want to survive you'd better keep up your first kill comes on a hot summer day when the air buzzes with insects and the rivers run low you're nosing around a berry bush when something small and furry darts out a rabbit Instinct Takes Over You pounce claws swiping and pin it to the

ground for a moment it squeals its bones break under your weight and you freeze you weren't expecting it to fight back but then you remember mom's growl her unrelenting force and you bite down it stops moving you've done it your first kill it's messy brutal and nothing like the clean effortless hunts you've watched your mother pull off but it's yours that taste of blood sticks with you you start paying attention watching the way Mom moves the way she stalks and Strikes with Precision you learn fast because you have to the forest is a hunting ground

but it's also a battlefield every meal is a risk and the line between predator and prey is Razor thin by the time you're second year rolls around you're bigger stronger and starting to feel like you own the forest you're wrong of course but that's not the point point you've seen the dangers wolves humans even bigger bears but you're starting to think you can handle them and then you meet him it's late spring and the salmon are running you and Mom are fishing by the river when he appears he's massive you freeze but Mom doesn't she

steps forward roaring a challenge that shakes the air The Stranger doesn't Flinch he charges the fight is chaos they slam into each other like freight trains for a moment you think Mom might lose but then she gets him a single swipe of her claws rakes across his face and he stumbles back she doesn't give him a chance to recover with a roar she lunges and he Retreats limping into the trees mom stands there panting blood dripping from her fur and you realize something this Forest doesn't belong to the biggest bear it belongs to the one

who refuses to die one day Mom just doesn't come back no speech no heartfelt goodbye not even a grunt to let you know she's leaving she's gone and so is the safety net you didn't realize you had it hits you fast you're alone and the forest feels bigger darker and way more interested in eating you than before the first few weeks are a crash course in how bad you are at this whole independent survival thing you stumble around misjudge threats and almost become a meal for a pack of wolves who seemed way too happy to

see you by the time you escape with your fur intact you realize why most Cubs don't make it to adulthood statistically speaking you're more likely to end up as a pile of bare flavored leftovers than a full-grown Predator your first big win comes when you stumble across a deer carcass still fresh with steam rising from it your stomach growls so loud it might as well have announced your arrival you dive in tearing at the meat like you haven't eaten in weeks you haven't by the way blood drips down your mouth and for a moment you

think you're finally catching a break then you hear it the snap of Twigs behind you you freeze mid bite another bear great he's smaller than mom's last challenger but bigger than you and judging by his expression he's not here to offer you a dinner invitation he charges and you don't even try to fight you run crashing through the underbrush you're fast faster than him and when you finally stop you realize two things one you're still hungry two the forest doesn't care how empty your stomach is if you want to eat you'd better be ready to

bleed for it by your fourth year the tables have turned you're no longer the scrawny Cub running from every shadow at 700 lb with claws sharp enough to carve your name into a tree and muscles built from years of fighting and hunting you've earned your place at the top smaller Predators steer clear and even other Bears think twice before crossing your path you've graduated from snack to don't mess with that guy one afternoon while patrolling your territory you catch the scent of blood you follow it to a clearing and find a younger bear maybe 2

years old digging into a fresh carcass he freezes when he sees you wide-eyed and clearly debating his options for a moment you just stare at him both of you weighing the odds he makes the smart choice he turns and runs into the trees leaving the carcass behind you don't bother chasing what's the point the food is yours now and as you tear into it you realize something you've become the bear you used to run from the forest doesn't challenge you anymore it respects you or at least knows better than to get in your way years

pass and the forest starts to feel different your once powerful body doesn't move like it used to and the fights you used to dominate now leave you limping for days the younger bears are getting Bolder testing you more often and while you still win it's starting to feel more like survival than Victory one day after a particularly rough fight you catch yourself retreating instead of pressing forward that's when it hits you the forest doesn't see you as Untouchable anymore you've still got your scars your strength and your pride but the cracks are starting to show

the forest has no patience for weakness it just Waits waits for you to fall behind as the first snow of Winter Falls you Retreat to an old Den one you haven't used in years it feels smaller now quieter you curl up inside your breath slowing as the cold settles in around you you've fought hunted and ruled for longer than most but the forest doesn't mourn its Kings it just waits for the next one to take the throne