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Fat Bear Week is, and for quite some time has been, over. For weeks we have lived in an ursine content void, forced into involuntary hibernation as all the good bears go to sleep for the winter. Or, almost all the good bears. The best bear in New York, and I think you will agree with this designation after you consume the visual feast below, appears to be extremely awake and extremely camera-ready. Meet Sonya, an orphaned brown bear who loves peaches and her former caretaker, Jonathan.
Sonya, now a robust 13-year-old girl, came to the Orphaned Wildlife Center in Otisville, New York, as a cub. According to the Center's Facebook page, she formed a "VERY unique and special relationship" with Jonathan, a who helped look after Sonja when she was younger and up for travel. Before last week, Sonya and Jonathan hadn't seen each other for years — but distance, as they say, makes the heart grow more impatient for pets.
We always tell you that Jim and Susan are the only ones that interact with the bears, because they have spent years establishing a relationship with them that no one else could possibly have. However, there is one other person that DID forge a relationship with some of the bears from the time they were very young. And that is Johnathan. Johnathan has worked with Jim and Susan whenever they were traveling with the bears and has done so since they were cubs (for more than 15 years now). He used to have a VERY unique and special relationship with Sonya, and when she was a cub they spent a great deal of time together. Over the years, Sonya didn’t want to travel anymore, and so she stayed home, and she and Johnathan have not interacted with each other for many, many years. Recently Johnathan came to the sanctuary to see her. Would she remember him? Would she still play a game that they had ALWAYS played together when she was little? This five part series of videos will answer that for you (more on their special game in future videos). (Video 1 of 4 - check back 4 days for additional parts of this video, they get better as we go!)
Apparently staff worried that Sonya might not recognize Jonathan, or at least not immediately. Wrong on all counts! "The moment she heard his voice, her head came up and she ran to the side of the fence," reads a post on the center's Facebook page. "Then when he went into her enclosure, she gave him a big bear hug and rubbed her head on him in affection."
Not only did she remember Jonathan, she also remembered the game he used to play with her when she was but a bear baby. "He would hold his hands out to her and she would put her paws into his hands and he would pull her forward and she would rock back," the center explains. "She LOVED this game and would run to him and extend her paws to him to try to get him to play it with her."
Here's Sonya as a 400-pound adult, reliving her youthful glory days. Just look at that smile:
Yesterday I mentioned a game that Johnathan used to play with Sonya when she was a cub. He would hold his hands out to her and she would put her paws into his hands and he would pull her forward and she would rock back. She LOVED this game and would run to him and extend her paws to him to try to get him to play it with her. He wanted to see if she remembered it, and while it was a lot different now that she is 400 pounds, haha, it is clear she DID remember and still wanted to play it. Video 2 of 4.
Eventually having exhausted herself with all that rocking, Sonja laid down on her back, stretching out like a large dog asking for a belly scratch. It was a very tender moment:
Video 3 of 4. Some of you asked if Sonya remembered him right away. She did! Actually the moment she heard his voice, her head came up and she ran to the side of the fence. Then when he went into her enclosure, she gave him a big bear hug and rubbed her head on him in affection.
Yeah okay sure, Sonya's nails are long and maybe it is anxiety-making for some of you, seeing her gently claw her former keeper with such blissful abandon. Jonathan doesn't seem concerned, nor does he appear ruffled by her repeated attempts to nuzzle his armpit. In the Center's estimation, she is probably just trying to climb inside Jonathan's shirt like she did when she was a cub, and you can just back off okay!!!
Everything here is obviously fine. Sonya is a very good bear — a well-mannered, relaxed, and considerate bear. The best bear, but also, looking at the center's full "residents" page, can you really choose just one?
Our final video in the Jonathan and Sonya series. You can really see if this one how much she completely trusts him and how comfortable she is. Johnathan says when she was little she would try to climb up under his shirt and snuggle there. He had to tuck his shirt in to try to prevent her from doing it at the size she is now. :) We sure hope you have enjoyed these special videos!
