The Sad Music of Dancing Bears

As their name suggests, wild animals like bears must be found in the wild, in their natural habitat where they dance to the melody of clapping leaves or be lulled by the hum of the afternoon breeze. But for some bears, they have to dance to a different music, an evil tune played by the strings of exploitation and cruelty. They have to dance to the rhythm of the reins that made them helpless and degraded. They have to dance….



Dancing bears, also known as tame bears, are tourist attractions in many parts of the world. They are wild bears captured when they were still young, though some of them are born and bred in captivity. The practice of taming bears for entertainment began in the Indus Valley Civilization. Romani, an ethnic group which originated in the Indian Subcontinent, were known to tame bears since the Middle Ages up until the end of the 14^th century. The practice continued in places like India, Bulgaria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Siberia.

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Image courtesy of Wikimedia.