The wild can be a harsh place for prey and predator alike, but that makes me think if I were an animal, which would I choose?
To me, the answer was quite simple, and that is a grizzly bear.
Habitat
Around 30,000 grizzly bears live in Alaska. If I were an animal, that is definitely a place where I would like to live.
Imagine the peace and quiet you would have living in Alaska. It is the least densely populated state with lots of wide-open spaces.
An issue for most animal species is their habitat. Will it be taken away? But Alaska has lots of protected lands and national parks to make sure my home is safe.
Alaska has some of the best natural beauty. You have amazing mountains and huge glaciers. Not to mention many other bears, moose, whales, eagles and thousands of other species.
I’ve always wanted to see the northern lights, and Alaska is one of the best places to watch the aurora borealis. Even now, I’m picturing falling asleep with my cubs while watching the beautiful light show.
Smart and Independent
Grizzly bears are incredibly intelligent. They have really good memories and can use problem-solving skills to find food and navigate their environments.
This independence is rare for lots of animals. They go through huge territories all alone and rely on no one but themselves. That kind of self-sufficiency is something that not even most humans have.
DIet and Life style
Bears have highly flexible diets; as omnivores, they can eat a wide range of foods, from plants to animals. During the summer and fall, they consume around 5,000 calories a day, increasing their food intake to around 20,000 calories per day as they prepare for hibernation.
The flexible diet allows allows bears to survive in harsh environments, they are very talented at locating food even when it is scarce. It would love to live like a bear, loading up on whatever high-calorie foods are available.
The iconic image of this lifestyle involves bears catching fish on the edge of a small waterfall — this happens in Alaska during salmon runs. Scenes like that make the bear lifestyle appear not only easy but enjoyable.
We’ve all heard the song “The Bare Necessities” from ‘The Jungle Book’. In the song, Baloo encourages a stress-free life by appreciating what nature provides, like fruits, honey and even ants. His character embraces a philosophy of ease and simplicity, free from the burdens of overwork or material worry.
Additionally, hibernation is another great plus of bear life. While I enjoy parts of winter, I get tired of it after Christmas. The idea of sleeping through the coldest and harshest part of the season sounds like something I would enjoy.
Baby Cubs
We’ve all heard the term “mother bear.” These grizzly bear moms are the fiercest protectors and stick by their children. When I was thinking about which animal I would want to be, something that deterred me from choosing other options was the harsh life as a youngster.
Any animal born into an egg or in the water is at very high risk of being eaten by anything.
Around 50% of young grizzly cubs make it through their first years. Though this seems low, this is a very similar number survival rate to many other apex predators.
Apex predator
Just like I was talking about earlier, there is a huge advantage to being an apex predator and you can live a much more relaxed lifestyle compared to an animal like a deer, which is always ready to run.
Grizzlies are at the top of the food chain in Alaska, and being hunted by another animal sounds like something out of the “Purge” movies to me.
If I were an animal, I’d be a grizzly bear: resilient, strong, adaptable and independent. In the world of the wild, I think that’s a pretty good way to be.