Jim Kowalczik gives bear hugs—to real bears.
Kowalczik reclines on the ground. His 1,500-pound bear buddy, Jimbo, rests a heavy paw on his waist. Jimbo takes a marshmallow from Kowalczik’s mouth. He laughs as the huge bear slobbers on his ear.
Jimbo the Kodiak bear first came to Kowalczik’s upstate New York haven for injured or unwanted animals as a bottle-feeding cub. That was 23 years ago. Kowalczik and his wife, Susan, have cared for the big lug ever since.
“He’ll play with you all day if you have the time,” Kowalczik says after a roughhousing session. But, he adds, “If he lays [sic] on you, you’ve got a problem.”
Jimbo is one of 11 bears living at the Kowalcziks’ nonprofit Orphaned Wildlife Center. Some are injured. Some were born in captivity. Jimbo came from a West Coast game farm (place that raises animals to stock hunting areas) with an injured leg.
Kowalczik’s hands-on approach has grabbed attention. One Facebook video of his antics with Jimbo received more than 16 million views.
For Kowalczik, playing with bears is as natural as petting a dog. The bears have never injured him, he says.
The couple has rehabilitated ducks, deer, mink, and other animals since the early 1990s. Their main goal is to release animals. But the bears cannot be released because of injuries or because they are too used to captivity.
The Kowalcziks funded the wildlife venture out of their own pockets until last year. A newly created nonprofit now allows them to take donations. The videos give their organization needed exposure.
But wildlife experts worry that people may get the wrong message from the rough-and-tumble videos. They warn people not to get up close with bears like Kowalczik does.
Even with captive bears, there’s a chance their instincts will take over, says Matt Merchant, a wildlife biologist. Plus, there’s the basic danger of rolling around with a three-quarter-ton animal.
Sitting on the ground next to Jimbo, Kowalczik shrugs at the thought of personal danger from his bear buddies.
“They’re content; they’re happy. If they weren’t,” Kowalczik pauses as Jimbo licks him, “you would know it.”
Bears are some of God’s largest four-legged furry creatures. Yet their association with the huggable teddy may tempt you not to take them seriously. God made them big, strong, and ferocious, not cuddly. Don’t ever forget: Hugs are for people, not bears!
