There are many bears at the Brookfield Zoo.  There are polar bears, and brown bears, and black sloth bears, not to mention the red pandas over in the Hamill Family Wild Encounters.

Bears are, however, difficult to photograph because their dens have thick Lexan between us and them – which, all things considered, is just as well because I don’t want to be a bear’s dinner.  (The fact I’d love to pet one isn’t really relevant to this particular discussion, and the Encounters I mentioned let you do just that – so that will be on our list to visit next time we head over to the zoo.)

I was able to snap this shot of the snoozing polar bear over the fence.  His face surprised me by how similar it is in appearance to some breeds of dogs.    He looks so cozy here, doesn’t he?

Is there such a thing as a “bear nap?”  Cats can’t have all the fun, now can they?

See what I mean about the Lexan here? It’s got a heck of a glare.  I like this shot because it gives you some idea of his size; I’m standing maybe five or six feet away from him.

He has an interesting ridge on his nose.  It seemed like he was trying to smell something.  In this shot, he more resembles a seal in his facial structure.

You can really see the resemblance to a dog here.

I’m disappointed at the glare in this shot, because he looks adorably sleepy.  He had a lie down right after this, but I couldn’t do it justice with the lighting.

I thought I got several more shots of the brown bear, and now that I’m typing, I’m thinking it may actually be a grizzly?  Not sure.  But this one startled me because of how friggin’ huge he is.  You can’t tell it in this shot, but there are actually two bears in the enclosure, sound asleep.  I couldn’t get the other one to come out with the lighting because they were so shadowed; I’m not sure if thi one is the male or the female.

The ears are adorable, nu?

Totally want to scritch his/her head, too.  Last thing I’d ever do, but omg.  Cute!?

Check back on Monday for C Is For Camel – remember, no post on Sunday!  (Thank you J. K. Rowling for that earwig.)

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Thank you for joining me for the A-Z Blog Challenge.  If you’re blogging in the challenge, please leave me a link so I can come visit you too.  If you have a moment, please check out these other fine blogs:

• My theme on my Knoontime Knitting craft blog is Letterforms In Nature.  I’ll be exploring my daily round, looking for shapes in the natural world and build environment.
• The theme at Noon & Wilder is The A To Z of Chicago.  Since I live here in the city and we have our Chicagoland Shifters based here, I figured I’d share a window into the city, Noon & Wilder style.
• The Nice Girls Writing Naughty have a new home, and we’re blogging in the challenge again this year.  Throughout the month you’ll be hearing from each of the Nice Girls, and during the RT Booklovers Convention from April 12th to the 17th, you’ll be getting live convention reports.  Join the conversation!
• The Writer Zen Garden’s brand new website is up and running, and we’re bringing you posts from me, Noony; my partner in crime, Rachel Wilder (the Wilder half of Noon & Wilder); the talented Darla M. Sands – a blogger in her own right, see below; as well as Grace Kahlo, Evey Brown, and author Tina Holland.  Check it out!

My friends who are participating in the challenge (and if you’re not on this list, tell me and I’ll add you!):

• Darla M. Sands, Awakening Dreams and Conquering Nightmares with a Pen
• Kari Trenten, The Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration

Write on, and Happy Blogging!