The Big Dipper Constellation

A Native American legend tells of a great bear awakening from its long winter sleep and racing across the sky. Pursued by hunters through the northern horizon, at last it is wounded. Slowly it rears up in the autumn sky, then falls upon its back, as blood seeps from its wounds upon the earth and stains the leaves red. Through the winter the Great Bear lies upon its back, only to be restored the following spring.

This endless hunt is the story of the Big Dipper (the stars of the handle being the warriors and the cup being the bear itself). Bears have fascinated humans since the earliest times. Today people see the bear as everything from a cuddly stuffed animal to a walking nightmare, a monarch of the forest and a competitor with man. For an animal that roams so freely in our imaginations, most of us know surprisingly little about real bears. There are eight different species of bears in the world today. Three of these live in North America: the black bear (Ursus americanus), the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), and the polar bear (Ursus maritimus). Black bears and grizzlies both live in Yellowstone National Park.