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Bears (of the family Ursidae) and people go back a long way. They are disconcertingly human-like, captured in the most popular of tales - Goldilocks, Snow White and Rose Red and Winnie the Pooh. Many cultures from northern Europe to North America and China have traditionally worshipped bears, regarding them as the spirit of ancestors. In the Palaeolithic era bear bones were carefully buried in unnatural poses and their skulls in a circle. Christian saints have tamed bears as a sign of holiness, though bears were persecuted to deter pagan cults. In medieval times the cruel and gruesome sport of bear-baiting was a common pastime, enjoyed by royalty and peasants alike. Seeing a bear tormented by dogs may have been entertainment, but it was also a physical representation of suffering and struggle at a time when bears were still part of a greater mythology. The mystical qualities of bears is reflected in our seeing them in the stars, as the Great and Little Bear track their way across the heavens. The constancy of the Great Bear constellation was used by slaves in the American Civil War to guide them to safety, away from conflict; their song "Follow the Drinking Gourd" tells how to follow the lights of the constellation – the gourd being code for The Great Bear. Today the white polar bear is a potent symbol of climate change: reliant on ice-covered land, it is in danger of losing its habitat. As we become more removed from nature, the style of the much-loved teddy bear has changed. Originally they looked like real bears, today they are pink and fluffy and short-limbed. Our relationship with bears has always been complex and still is today.

Originally broadcast in a longer form on 8th September 2015

Original Producer : Mary Colwell
Archive Producer : Andrew Dawes