How the Bear Lost Its Tail

Did you know that prehistoric bears had long tails? Ever wonder why bear and fox are never seen together? This folktale has parallels in many cultures including the German and Iroquois oral tradition and gives a fun explanation for both questions.

In ancient times when the animals could speak, Bear had a long tail and was very proud of it. He would vainly brag and ask all the forest creatures if his tail was the nicest. Wary of his sharp claws and teeth they would agree with him but were annoyed at his vanity. One winter day as he was traveling past the frozen lake he saw Fox who was returning from the village of the humans with a pile of fish that he had stolen. “Where did you get those tasty looking fish?” he asked, his mouth watering. “I caught them with my tail,” Fox lied. Bear demanded that Fox teach him how to do this. Fox has always been known as a clever trickster and seized this opportunity to teach Bear a lesson he would not forget. “Use your claws to dig a hole in the ice and then sit with your back to the hole. Dip your tail into the water and wait very quietly, thinking about each fish that you will catch,” fox instructed. “That sounds easy, Bear replied, and since I have the loveliest tail of all, I will catch the most fish.” Snickering to himself, Fox said that he must go away so as not to scare the fish and left Bear with his tail in the icy water. As he sat there, Bear thought about all the delicious fish he would catch and soon grew tired and fell asleep. Eventually the hole froze up and Fox returned. Noticing bears’ tail he shouted enthusiastically, “wake up, I think you have caught a fish!” Bear woke with a start and could feel a pain in his frozen tail. Thinking it was a fish biting it he pulled up as hard as he could and his long tail snapped clean off. Fox the trickster ran off laughing as Bear groaned in pain. To this day all bears have a short stubby tail to remind them not to be so vain. This is also the reason you never see Bear and Fox sharing dinner and when you hear a bear groan in the wild it is remembering the days when it had a long beautiful tale.

If you would like factual information about bears call program delivery specialist Marty Cancilla at 362-0080 or check www.rosslandbearaware.org. Report bear sightings and bear encounters to conservation officers at 1-877-952-7277.