Bear Gardens

We often think of bears these days as cute teddy bears; real bears are magnificent beasts but very, very dangerous. There are eight different varieties of bear, some more well-known than others, black bear, brown bear, polar bear and panda, but there are also the spectacled bear, the sloth bear and the sun bear. They live in different habitats, and eat different food, but they are all omnivorous, even if they have preferences for particular things. Thee used to be bears in the British Isles, but the last one was seen about a thousand years ago.

Bear Gardens in London, next to the Globe Theatre, a reconstruction of Shakespeare’s own theatre, is named after actual bears, but not bears from a thousand years ago, but from the vile practice of having a pit or ‘garden’ in which there was a bear who was then attacked by dogs – bear-baiting. This disgusting and revolting ‘entertainment’ was popular in London from the 1560’s until the mid 1600’s. The Puritans stopped it, not because they thought it was cruel but because they disapproved of any entertainment.

It wasn’t just bears who were tortured in this way, many other animals were – in fact there are still illegal dog fights, and cock fights going on in Britain. There were all sorts of cruel sports in the past; in East Anglia, right out in the fens, there used to be fights between dogs and men; the man would have his hands tied behind his back and have big studded boots on, and he could kick the dog, and the dog could bite him… grotesque and horrible.

This tree has been used as a scratching post for a bear; they are strong and powerful animals… I’m glad we didn’t meet one when we went into the woods!

http://https://youtu.be/dZANKFxrcKU