Communicating with Bears: Grizzlies
show he's not scared of a puny little thing like you, though, in fact, he's at the edge of panic himself. Soothing his big ego by your calm respectful behavior and allowing him to save face will go far to defuse situations. It is even better when he realises that you understand his signals and can communicate back to him intelligibly. One of the scariest things about humans is their blindness to signals that would be crystal clear to any reasonably intelligent animal. Grizzlies are extremely intelligent animals.
Now in communities where people and grizzlies share the same space, things may be significantly more relaxed. The humans understand the bears and the bears are people-wise. In such a case, far more closeness than usual may be readily tolerated. But there will nevertheless be a distinct set of rules for such coexistence and they must be scrupulously respected. If they are, the bears will be relaxed and tolerant and doing all their wonderful grizzly things around people, and the people won't feel threatened by them and can enjoy seeing them. Some grizzlies will even schedule their activities so they can have some excuse for being in the vicinity of people they favor. Others will find a good vantage point to "people watch," gazing with fascination at all the strange and funny things humans do. Grizzlies which like people and feel comfortable around them have a distinctive "grizzly smile," and are often very playful. This effect can make them seem as cute as 1,000-pound teddy bears. Their eyes can be warm and gentle too. Despite their fierceness, there are communities (such as on Kodiak Island) where people and bears live in peace and harmony with each other. But it takes tolerance and restraint from the humans.
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