Mary's Monday Metazoan: Baby bear and kitty cat : Pharyngula

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Mary's Monday Metazoan: Baby bear and kitty cat

Category: Organisms
Posted on: November 16, 2009 8:28 AM, by PZ Myers

Good acting.

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Comments

Posted by: Jack | November 16, 2009 8:47 AM

"Oh mom! I thought it was me that scared it off!"

What was with the fake panting and whimpering crap? That spoiled it for me.

Posted by: machintelligence | November 16, 2009 8:47 AM

Another classic in the predator attacks predator Disney style. Lots of luck seeing something like this in the wild.

Posted by: Pierre | November 16, 2009 8:52 AM

I thin I've seen something similar once, except
it was a giraffe chasing a tree octopus, until the
giant mama tree octopus came to its rescue.

Posted by: bluskool | November 16, 2009 8:53 AM

That was awesome. It almost seemed scripted.

Posted by: Valdyr | November 16, 2009 8:54 AM

See, if the bear had a gun, a lot of trouble could've been avoided.

Posted by: Hank Fox | November 16, 2009 8:55 AM

The HQ -- huggability quotient -- of bear cubs is very, very high.

But how the heck did they film that?

Posted by: UXO | November 16, 2009 8:58 AM

See, if the bear had a gun, a lot of trouble could've been avoided.

So, Valdyr, you're advocating the right to arm bears?

Posted by: Bob O'H | November 16, 2009 9:07 AM

Oh, is this the film Uncommonly Denyse was thinking was a documentary?

Posted by: maddogdelta | November 16, 2009 9:08 AM

I remember when this movie came out. The reviews were pretty much "cute movie, but no connection with reality"

The main premise is that an adult male bear "adopts" an orphaned bear cub.

Which doesn't happen.

#10

Posted by: Sastra | November 16, 2009 9:08 AM

They forgot the part where the mama cougar returns to her cubs, and they make cute little whimpering "whatcha get us, whatcha get us, we're hungry noises," but the mommy hangs her head in shame and defeat, and there are little sad sniffing sounds till the baby kitties start keeling over, dead of starvation.

There wasn't a dry eye in the theater. Damn that bear.

#11

Posted by: Jerry Coyne | November 16, 2009 9:08 AM

I implore you, P.Z., leave teh kittehs to me!!!!

#12

Posted by: hannah's dad | November 16, 2009 9:09 AM

I saw that film in Canada 20 years ago almost exactly, a couple of months after hiking in some of the area where it had been filmed.
At the showing of the film they had a doco on how it was made, but not that particular scene above unfortunately. The adult bear in that scene was a trained male and near the end of the movie the bear traps the nunter who has been tracking him. The hunter, with no line of retreat, turns to see the bear rise massively up on his hind legs and go into threat attack mode. The actor playing the hunter then hears the animal trainer say, from a few yards away out of camera angle "I've lost control of him, cower!"
So the actor did, with the camera still filming.
And then the trainer re-established control.

#13

Posted by: charley | November 16, 2009 9:10 AM

UXO, if you and Valdyr aren't one and the same then you made my day.

#14

Posted by: Wes | November 16, 2009 9:11 AM

Posted by: bluskool | November 16, 2009 8:53 AM
That was awesome. It almost seemed scripted.

That's because it was scripted:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bear_%28movie%29

#15

Posted by: Valdyr | November 16, 2009 9:11 AM

"There wasn't a dry eye in the theater. Damn that bear."

Alright, let me revise my position: the mountain lion should've had access to a high-caliber sniper rifle to provide food for its adorable kitten offspring.

#16

Posted by: sailor1031 | November 16, 2009 9:30 AM

I think this can be a win-win for us, bears and mountain lions. Arm the bears, arm the cats but let them shoot only hunters. This feeds the bears and mountain lions while culling the hunter herd which, as anybody who dares go in the woods in fall knows, has dangerously overrun its range because of lack of predation on the herd.

#17

Posted by: Lana | November 16, 2009 9:31 AM

I had the same thought, Sastra. What about the kittens? I did like how it appeared the little guy thought he was scaring off the bad predator.

#18

Posted by: thetimchannel.wordpress.com | November 16, 2009 9:31 AM

Looks like Andrew Sullivan is making glancing blows toward PZ today. He highlights a recent post of Bryan Appleyard in his Atlantic column (Daily Dish):

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/11/an-ear-of-lead.html

I find it serendipitous that I reposted a comment he made yesterday on his blog which likely highlights Andy's largest personal issue with resolving his religious vrs. reality problem:

http://thetimchannel.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/powerful-mythos-over-trivial-eros/

Enjoy.

#19

Posted by: Clint Burky | November 16, 2009 9:36 AM

Unfortunately from memory this movie was very cruel, and before the days where any descent form of animal cruelty laws were passed. I think several animals died during the making of the movie.

Similar to the movie "Milo and Otis", where they went through literally over a dozen of little puppies and kitten's as they died from drowning/ falling from high heights etc.

#20

Posted by: littlejohn | November 16, 2009 9:41 AM

And the Bambization of Animals That Would Cheerfully Eat You continues. Blech. BTW, I'm a hillbilly and no cat would be stupid enough to approach a bear cub. It would be guaranteed suicide. Only tourists are that dumb.
And let's not arm the bears. They're notoriously bad shots, and besides, hunters are currently out of season.

#21

Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | November 16, 2009 9:43 AM

More proof that cats are assholes.

#22

Posted by: Carlie | November 16, 2009 9:49 AM

I thin I've seen something similar once, except
it was a giraffe chasing a tree octopus, until the
giant mama tree octopus came to its rescue.

Would that be the tree octopus of the Pacific Northwest?

#23

Posted by: aratina cage of the OM | November 16, 2009 9:56 AM

The HQ -- huggability quotient -- of bear cubs is very, very high.

Until you see a full-grown female bear without much hair. Those things look like giant gargoyles! Just look at the claws. No, I don't think I'll be hugging any of those; even the cubs could rip your face off I imagine.

#24

Posted by: Budbear | November 16, 2009 9:57 AM

So, Valdyr, you're advocating the right to arm bears?

Ba-dum-bump!

FTW!

#25

Posted by: Hank Fox | November 16, 2009 10:29 AM

Budbear #24: "...even the cubs could rip your face off I imagine."

Yeah, but so could Chuck Norris.

The difference is, the bear cub WOULDN'T.

Seriously, from camping and hiking in the wilderness, I can tell you that just about everything alive, including bears, runs from humans.

The reason we think bears (mountain lions, wolves, etc.) are dangerous is the juicy-scary story-telling FILTER that propagates every extraordinarily rare incident.

One bear tearing up an Igloo cooler in Yosemite is about ten thousand times more likely to get told and retold than a cow goring to death a 10-year-old in Purvis, Mississippi.

In the real world, dogs, cattle and horses are hugely more dangerous than bears. And as we all know, automobiles are so far out there that all the animal deaths combined vanish at the bottom of the chart.

#26

Posted by: Hank Fox | November 16, 2009 10:31 AM

Argh.

I meant aratina cage #23.

#27

Posted by: JSW | November 16, 2009 10:39 AM

Bah, bears are easy. Let's see how that cat would fare against a gibbon.

#28

Posted by: daveau | November 16, 2009 10:44 AM

I usually root for teh kittehs, but not this time. And I just knew that Jerry was going to have something to say about your incessant kitteh poaching.

#29

Posted by: lawguy | November 16, 2009 10:50 AM

Clint at 19, that movie was made in the 80s long after animal protection laws went into effect. I've seen a few Animal Planet specials on the trainer, quite impressive and all his stuff done with kindness.

The weirdest thing is that he did not seem to treat the bear like a wild animal, but almost like a pet.

#30

Posted by: bckcntry | November 16, 2009 10:51 AM

Aw, I remember seeing this when I was a kid at the Omnimax theatre in Vancouver. I was so confused at the time when the little bear ate the mushrooms.

As if the cougar wouldn't just eat a rabbit.

#31

Posted by: UXO | November 16, 2009 10:55 AM

UXO, if you and Valdyr aren't one and the same then you made my day.

Naw, I'm pretty sure that's not the case - I'm on my meds, so I SHOULDN'T have any extra personalities floating around....

I'm just incredibly witty. Or at least 50% of the way there. (ba-dum-TISH!)

Thank you, thank you! I'm here all week, tip your server!

#32

Posted by: Lisa | November 16, 2009 11:26 AM

Hello all...longtime PZ reader, first time commenter here.

Also a longtime fan of The Bear movie. Almost no dialogue, visually stunning, inspiring message. A bit cheesy on giving the bear cub so much vocalization, but I love it just the same. Still, very strange that this would lead to my first-ever comment here.

Clint at #19: if you have any evidence that the animals in The Bear were mistreated, or to support your allegation that "several animals died during the making of the movie," please do provide links, because I've never been aware of any such evidence. I have to remain strongly skeptical of your statements otherwise. Same goes with Milo & Otis: do you have any evidence other than completely unfounded speculation?

#33

Posted by: Carl Buell | November 16, 2009 12:06 PM

I've met them, Doug and Lynne Seus treated "BART" about as well as an animal can be treated... certainly better than my mother treated me. The relationship of Bart and Doug was the subject of two hour long TV specials. Bart died of Cancer in 2000 after 23 years with Doug. http://www.bartthebear.com/

What I remember about the film was that it was shot in Spain in the Pyrenees and they kept showing closeups of European birds.

#34

Posted by: Jim | November 16, 2009 12:46 PM

Poor Lions. They can't win in ANY league, can they? There's always next year.

#35

Posted by: Moggie | November 16, 2009 1:53 PM

Saccharine tosh. I may have to watch some Attenborough to cleanse the palate.

#36

Posted by: Quinno | November 16, 2009 3:34 PM

The tongue action at the end is, um, really something.

#37

Posted by: Jeff | November 16, 2009 7:22 PM

Where's my vomit bag? Blech!

#38

Posted by: nigelTheBold | November 16, 2009 9:27 PM

And as we all know, automobiles are so far out there that all the animal deaths combined vanish at the bottom of the chart.

True story: my mom was out on a motorcycle one day. Coming around a corner, she t-boned a bear that was standing in the road, sending her ass-over-teakettle.

Motorcycles are dangerous!

#39

Posted by: LKL | November 16, 2009 9:58 PM

I loathe fake animal noises in film. Bleah...

#40

Posted by: woozy | November 17, 2009 2:57 PM

Huh?

I don't get it.

#41

Posted by: David Cantrell | November 17, 2009 4:57 PM

Hmmm, interesting that it was actually filmed. I assumed it was a clever combination of CGI and real footage.

#42