The Teddy Bears Picnic

We went down to the woods today, and we sure got a big surprise.

Un-bear-ably beautiful (groan)

In truth, we went down to the drive-through Sequim Olympic Game Farm, and these incredible creatures were behind electrified fences. It was a complicated experience - the sense of amazed wonder at seeing them, especially up so close, competes with the acute awareness that we're not supposed to see them, let alone from only a few meters away. They're supposed to be rambling around the mountains and forests, hunting hikers, not voluntarily doing tricks for the bread tourists are allowed to throw to them. For, you see, many of the animals at the Farm are ex-entertainers.

 

The Kodiak bear above reminded me of my brother's childhood teddy bear and sauntered over when he saw us sitting in our car watching him. He was well aware we had bread and was, or so it seemed, performing small tricks in the hope of edible rewards. He would, for example, stand up on his hind legs or wave his hands in the air, one after the other. It actually broke my heart a little bit.

The native animals were certainly the standout, among them wolves, deer, elk and bison. For the most part, the animals were in large open encloses that we drove through - the predators were obviously kept separate - and they would rush the car windows, hoping for a share of bread.

The neighbourhood bison getting friendly with the car in front of us...

The neighbourhood bison getting friendly with us...

Baby Elk

Many of the Farm's tenants, however, were a long way from home; tigers, lions, zebras, and a herd of Tibetan yaks also call the farm home. 

A Tibetan Yak

One resident in particular was as far from home as us:

Emu

It was enough to make one just the tiniest bit homesick!