Postcard Friendship Friday! with a Polar Bear!

The photo I'm including here could be a postcard. We took it through the bus window when we visited Yellowstone National Park. I think it goes along with the theme of the blog today. What do you think? It's of a bison just wandering around the parking area.

What do you do when a polar bear is coming straight for your tethered dog? This is not a problem we here in the lower 48 states have to think about, but my friend sent me these pictures and I thought that I'd post them. The polar bear in these pictures looks like the tamest and most well-behaved ever. I think what I like best about them is the gentle expression on its face and the compassion the bear shows to the dog. See for yourself. Scroll down and see the polar bear in its natural setting.

I've always hated that baby polar bears have been clubbed to death and imagine the horror a mother polar bear feels when this is done to her baby. The behavior you see here is the opposite of how you think a polar bear would react in the wild. But here is a good reason to protect these gentle creatures.

The polar bear comes close to the tethered dog. The person taking the picture

looks on in horror and worries the dog is now food for the bear.
The bear comes close to the dog and look at the expression on

its face.
Then it throws its paws around the dog and hugs it. Look

how sweet its face is.
Afterward the two stand quietly together in a friendly almost

human moment. They seem to be communicating wordlessly.
The polar bear holds the dog in the crook of its arm as if to

warm it or protect it from the elements. It looks more like

a furry blanket here than a giant polar bear.
Finally the bear feels secure and lays down at the feet of

the dog. The bear's expression is calm and peaceful. Its mouth

has been closed the whole time.

Yes, that was a departure for me, but think of the benefit of showing people the real behavior of an animal in the wild. Do polar bears in captivity act like this? Probably not, because everything in captivity changes. I'm using this for my Postcard Friendship Friday.:)

Okay, here is the winner for the free eBook from Penny Ehrenkranz.

It's www.aphorisms.com and I just left a comment on his blog.

Not happy about Melissa going home on SYTYCD, but love Kayla and Brandon. Also love Evan, so Jeanine will have to be spectacular to out dance Kayla. Just my thoughts, of course.

Until the next time, please leave your comments about how you feel about any of this post. It's kind of a mish mosh of animal photos.:) Certainly not my usual fare, but my guest author is once again not able to be here. So we have to adapt. Jennifer Banash will be with us, hopefully, later today. Keep checking. I might put a new post on during the afternoon.

By the way, for anyone who wants to know today is my birthday! I'm a Leo and love lions. See my post about Why I Love Lions to know why.