On the Bear Moon and Moon Bears

I learned about the bear moon from Kerri ní Dochartaig’s Cacophony of Bone just a couple days ago, and lo and behold, here it is. February’s full moon that occurs around the time bear cubs are born in their dens is perfectly timed, right in the midst (or is it the beginning?) of a particularly feverish bear obsession.

My daughter and I read bear books during the day: Something About a Bear by Jackie Morris and Bear Came Along by Richard T. Morris and LeUyen Pham. The board book called Hello Sacred Creatures by Kim Krans features only eleven species of animals from around the whole world and three of them are bears!

After she goes to sleep, I read bear books for grown-ups: Eight Bears by Gloria Dickie, about their behavior, ecology, and conservation, and Bear: Myth, Animal, Icon by Wolf D. Storl about the human-bear relationship throughout history. Yes, “brother and sister bear…have accompanied us along our pathway since the Stone Age,” as Storl writes.

‘Moon bear’ is another name for the Asiatic black bear, one of the eight extant bear species on Earth. The name refers to the crescent shape of pale fur on the bear’s chest. (Interestingly, two other Asian species- sloth and sun bears- have uniquely-shaped patches on their chests, too.)

The purpose of the patch is unclear, but it may help bears identify each other and defend themselves against the big cats who also share their habitats. (The guide who led our honeymoon trek in Great Himalayan National Park once encountered a leopard with a freshly killed bear cub!)

by dangdumrong from Getty Images Signature

So, why do they wear the moon so near to their hearts? Because Kuan Yin gave it to them.

“The crescent moon bear is considered a sacred being, one who was given the white mark on his throat by the Buddhist Goddess Kwan-Yin, whose emblem is the crescent moon. Kwan-Yin is the Goddess of Deep Compassion and the bear is her emissary.”

-Clarissa Pinkola Estés in Women Who Run With the Wolves

On this side of the world, a mama bear right now in Virginia is lounging inside a (relatively) warm den. She is not alone. There are grunting, squeaking, and chirping noises. A couple of newborn cubs, “blind pink islands no bigger than shoes,” as Mary Oliver described them, snooze in the leaf litter under the comforting blanket of their mama’s body heat. They suckle when hungry, making a mesmerizing purring sound (listen here). If mama bear decides to poke her head outside her den it will not look like spring. Perhaps she doesn’t have to see the snow to know it is there.

And perhaps, under this special full moon, all the world’s bear cubs will have been blessed with Kuan Yin’s gift. Whether we can see it or not.

Jillian Cooper from Getty Images