Even the most fierce in the animal kingdom seek connection.

As stories of inter-species friendships continue to spread we can see that animals are indeed just like us. (In many ways, they’re actually more advanced than us, if you ask me.)

“When you have a deep enough trust with a grizzly bear, that it will completely fall asleep, and completely make itself vulnerable and is doing so because it trusts you completely. And it knows in some way that you have its back. For any animal to instinctively let its guard down that far, that is the ultimate show of trust..” ~ Casey Anderson 

Trust with a grizzly bear?! Once upon a time these words would have been unbelievable. Now, they just make sense to me.

The bond between human and animal captured in this video is simply beautiful. It’s living proof that all animals are sentient beings, and that they all deserve the same respect and esteem as we give to our household pets.

The massive amounts of animal videos presently abounding on the internet seem to have one thing in common: Animals often show more “humanity” than many humans do. As the plethora of violent attacks by humans, against one another, continues to increase, we see more and more visual proof that animals are often the gentler species.

Yes, of course they’re wild, and they hunt and fight. But not to the destructive effect that we do as human beings.

As a child of the late 70s and early 80s I was raised in the belief system which said animals and people are not the same. This wasn’t a direct belief which was instilled by my parents, but more of a societal programming which was picked up through media, film, books and history. I was raised to treat animals kindly and respect them, but we certainly weren’t talking about the emotional capacity of animals, and how they feel just the way humans do. We ate meat, and it was always just assumed that cows, pigs, and chickens were there to be eaten.

And then I woke up.

The clearer I continue to become through pranayama, meditation, yoga, and conscious eating, the more removed I am from those outdated and false beliefs about animals. It’s impossible to continue to think we are different than the beautiful creatures we share the planet with. I learned it was okay to redefine my beliefs at any time.

All the continuing videos of amazing animals showing emotions, escaping slaughter, remembering human friends after years apart, and the inter-species friendships we see recorded daily, point to one conclusion:

Animals are people too. 

I hope you enjoy this beautiful story as much as I did. Please support your local animal sanctuaries, but always do your research on their practices to ensure they are keeping the best interests of the animals at the forefront of their mission.

Learn more about The Grizzly Encounter here. 

And some more fantastic animal preserves and sanctuaries:

The Lakota Wolf Preserve 

The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary 

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary 

~

Author: Lindsay Carricarte

Image: Video Still

Editor: Travis May