Every creature has a survival instinct. And every mother has a maternal instinct. It’s the same for the entire animal kingdom. But in a matter of life or death, which instinct will come out on top? What do you do when it looks like all is lost?
This remarkable story takes us all the way to a lake in northwestern Russia. It’s a tale about a small family of bears: a mother and her two young cubs – and two fishermen. Be warned, though, it’s no fairytale. Mother Bear had to make a tough decision, and you may well be surprised by her choice.
1. An Unforgiving Environment
This story unfolds in northwestern Russia on the banks of Lake Vygozero. Mother Bear and her two small cubs are standing on the shore. The fast-flowing water stretches out in front of them, as far as the eye can see. It’s cold, as usual. The lake freezes over every winter from the middle of November until May and temperatures can go down to -20 degrees Celsius. There’s a strong current, too. Yet Mother Bear doesn’t turn back.
The lake isn’t frozen yet but it’s still dangerous. Especially for two young cubs who haven’t learned to swim properly yet. They’re still very reliant on their mother. The cubs will follow their mother wherever she goes. That means she has to think of their safety and well-being as well as her own.
2. Crossing the Lake
Mother Bear wades into the water and the two young cubs follow. The water quickly gets deeper and before long the cubs are out of their depth. They clamber onto her back and she carries them out into the lake.
For some reason, this huge bear with her two small cubs has decided to cross over to the other side of the lake. They can’t go over it, they can’t go under it, so they’ll have to go through it… Why? What is she thinking to make her risk her life and the life of her cubs? We’ll never know what Mother Bear was thinking – but we do know what happened next.
3. Risking Life and Limb
They set off across the lake. Mother Bear is a strong swimmer, but her cubs are still young and have less experience of deep water. To start with, she carries the two little ones on her back. They cling on tightly and the three of them gradually make their way across the lake.
It’s slow progress and it’s hard work fighting against the current. Mother Bear barely manages to keep her head above the surface as the water threatens to pull them under at every moment. Are they nearly there yet? She struggles on but the far shore doesn’t seem to be getting any nearer. That’s when it happens. Disaster strikes. They’re in the middle of the expanse when Mother Bear becomes separated from her cubs.
4. Left alone
Now Mother Bear has a choice: either she can go back for her cubs and try once more to take them to safety – or she can save herself. The first option would put all their lives in danger, and there’s a chance all three would perish. The second option would guarantee her own safety, but would put the lives of her offspring on the line. Maternal instinct versus survival instinct. Which one will win?
Bears are usually highly protective of their young – but if she goes back for them now, none of them will survive. She doesn’t have any choice. Mother Bear leaves her two small cubs to fend for themselves.
5. Losing hope
The cubs flounder in the cold, rushing water. They’ve been abandoned by their mother – that strong bond that exists between bears has been broken. Their fur is sodden and weighing them down, and they’re exhausted. They struggle on, trying to follow Mother Bear, but there’s no way they can keep up with her.
Finally, Mother Bear disappears into the distance, making better progress now she no longer has the extra weight on her back. The cubs on their own in the cold, wet expanse. They are so young and inexperienced: their chances of survival are minimal. It seems like all hope is lost.
6. Fishermen
Suddenly, a fishing boat appears in the distance. There are two Russian tourists onboard who’ve gone out for the day, hoping to catch some fish. They see something in the water – too big to be a fish, surely – and come closer to investigate. No, that’s definitely not a fish. It comes as a surprise to discover the truth: it’s two bear cubs! And they’re in trouble…
The fishermen immediately recognize the gravity of the situation. They have to do something to help or these bears won’t survive. Now is the time to think quickly and to act quicker. The bears’ lives are now in their hands.
7. How to rescue the bears?
One of the cubs comes right up to the boat and tries to climb in. It puts its paws over the side of the boat and tries to lift itself out of the water, but it has already used all its energy trying to stay afloat and all it can do is cling on for dear life. What to do now?
The fishermen have to figure out a rescue plan. But there’s more than just the safety of the bears to think about: they need to think of their safety, too. The fishermen need to make sure they don’t fall in to the water themselves while trying to rescue the bears. What’s more, bears have sharp teeth and might attack the fishermen at any moment. As if to prove the point, the cub starts biting into the boat with its teeth…
8. Please save me!
Still clinging onto the side of the boat, the cub makes eye contact with one of the fishermen. It’s desperate. Its gaze pleads with the man to save it – how can anyone ignore a look like that? The situation is dangerous, yes: what if the cub turns on its rescuers in a moment of fear and vulnerability? But these are living creatures in urgent need of help and the fishermen can’t abandon them.
The cub’s gaze fixes on the fisherman and it seems to understand that it’s now reliant on these two humans. There’s a wordless communication between man and bear. In other circumstances both would no doubt be terrified of the other. In this situation, however, they need to work together.
9. Fishing for bears
Time is ticking, and the fishermen need to get the bears out of the water and onto the shore. They have nets, of course, but their nets are designed to catch fish – not sodden bears. The cubs’ fur is drenched and they’re even heavier than usual. It’s a good thing they’re still so young: adult bears can weigh more than 200kg, but these cubs haven’t reached that enormity yet.
Still, the fishermen have to save the bears somehow and they’re willing to sacrifice their nets for the sake of these cubs. The first cub is still clinging onto the side of the boat. The fishermen use the net to scoop it up from underneath and onto the boat.
10. Exhausted
These two fishermen are used to hard work in difficult conditions. Even so, they are almost as exhausted as the bears by the time they’ve managed to get the first cub onboard. They try to calm it down, speaking softly all the time, while figuring out what to do next.
The second cub is further away from the boat. They go closer but the cub is clearly wary of them and doesn’t try to clamber onboard like its sibling. Maybe it’s safer not to have a frightened bear in such proximity on the boat. The fishermen scoop the bear up in the net again, but this time, instead of lifting it up onto the boat, they attach the net to the side of the boat so the bear is trailing in the water.
11. Abandoned?
With one cub on board and one cub being towed alongside the boat, the fishermen set off for the opposite shore. Where has Mother Bear gone? They head in the direction of where they last saw her, but there’s no sign of her now. Where is she?
They reach the far shore and the cubs set foot on dry land again, but Mother Bear is still not there. Has she abandoned her cubs? Or has she got into trouble too? The fishermen don’t want to leave the cubs alone in case their mother never comes back. Would they survive on their own in the wild? The fishermen wait and wait…
12. Reunion
There she is! The fishermen see the bear further along the shore – and she has seen them. She enters the water again and starts swimming towards them, gaining speed all the time. Now the rescuers begin to worry. Yes, they have saved her cubs – but bears are aggressive creatures, and she might have misunderstood the situation. She might attack them.
Just in case, the fishermen decide to increase the distance between them and the bears. They set off back out onto the lake, watching the bears all the time, hoping with bated breath that the story will have a happy ending.
13. The End
Mother Bear reaches the shore and emerges, dripping, from the water. She greets her cubs and picks them up by the scruff of their neck to carry them to safety. The fishermen haven’t caught any fish – but they have saved the cubs’ lives and reunited them with their mother.
They watch the bears disappear into the forest and then head back out to continue their fishing. It may not be a fairytale, but it has a happy ending all the same. What’s more, it’s true! If you don’t believe me, watch the video: the fishermen recorded their adventure on camera. Nature really is that extraordinary, and we humans can play our part in it.
