Like all creatures great and small, bears have their place in the grand scheme of things. People hunt them for the same reasons they hunt other animals, for the adventure, the challenge, and because they are good to eat. I used to try to defend hunting to non-hunters, but I don't anymore. Hunting is not for everybody, as are neither baseball, football, nor prize fighting. The Michigan DNR issues a limited number of bear hunting permits each year in the Lower Peninsula. Last I heard, they were holding a regular season in the Upper Peninsula where bears are more plentiful. The intent is to maintain a sustainable population while minimizing bear-human conflicts.
When Old Dog mentioned that bird, I thought he was talking about albatrosses. They remain aloft, riding the thermals and swooping down to catch fish, except for once a year when they land to breed and nest. They have a difficult time getting airborne afterwards, I suppose because they only do it once a year. Their clumsy take off attempts have earned them the nickname "goony birds". That godwit is a whole 'nother story. I have no idea how they manage it.
I didn't know that Asian Indians fed their dead people to the vultures, but I have read about certain American Indian tribes that used to do something like that. They used to put their dead people on raised platforms and let the birds and the elements pick the skeletons clean. They would come back later and collect the dry bones, but I don't remember what they did with them.
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