Are bears just.... undomesticatable
My friend and I were talking about it today, how humans will pet anything and domesticate anything even remotely friend shaped...so what happened with bears?
I mean we tamed wolves and big cats (domesticated themselves but ya know) oxen, deer and birds, wild boar....why never did we make tiny lovable bears?
well, the shortest answer to that is that domestication isn't really something we did TO animals, it's a process that happens over time that requires work from both ends! it's a two-way-street, so to speak.
see, for domestication to really work, the domesticated species has to actually need something from humans that they then get when they enter a partnership with us.
for dogs? companionship, food, shelter, safety of the group, and assistance with child rearing and territory defense.
for cats? access to a steady food supply, shelter and safe places to rear their young, companionship.
for horses? protection, safety and shelter, healing of injuries and illnesses, and a constant sense of reassurance.
for livestock animals like cows, pigs, and goats? guaranteed safety, healing of injuries and illnesses, assurance of producing young in a safe place, and an eventual swift mostly-painless death free of the agonies of the wilder food chain.
bears don't want anything from us. bears don't NEED anything from us. they'll eat our trash, but they're just as happy pulling salmon out of a river somewhere.
they don't have any use for human protection or shelter. they'll eat you if they think it's a valid option on the table. (pun intended)
so no, no matter how much you might like a domesticated grizzly to cuddle up to on cold nights, they're just not interested and so it will never happen.
and that's okay! there are some animals that we just don't have anything to offer to, and it's good to acknowledge that.
bears belong in the wild.