Childhood Memories of Bears

Ivan Tylkanov remembers an encounter with a bear from his childhood. The family was staying at their fishing spot, and he went berry picking with his sister. Their mother, who was sitting a little higher up, spotted a bear while the children could not see it because of the tall grass, and she warned them. Eventually, they went home and informed their father that there was a bear nearby. Together with Ivan’s older brother, they immediately set out to hunt. However, they were unable to kill the bear and only managed to wound it. [Since Injured bears tend to seek revenge, this was a dangerous situation, note by E. Kasten.] The children and their grandmother were very afraid because the hunters had taken the dogs with them into the forest. The grandmother and another relative climbed to the top of a tree, while Ivan tried to hide inside the yurt. There was a small enclosure made of nets inside, where two rascal geese were kept. He hid behind them until the hunters returned and said that the bear had been killed for good.