Editing Brown bear (section)

===Culture===
{{further information|Cultural depictions of bears}}
{{Multiple images
| image1            = The Three Bears - Project Gutenberg etext 19993.jpg
| caption1          = "[[The Story of the Three Bears]]", illustration from ''Childhood's Favorites and Fairy Stories''
| image2            = A house of cards, Puck cover.jpg
| caption2          = [[Russia]] is often represented by a bear, as in this ''[[Puck (magazine)|Puck]]'' political cartoon from 1904.
| alt1              = The image shows three bears standing in a house
| alt2              = The image shows a bear behind a house of cards
}}

Bears have been popular subjects in art, literature, folklore, and mythology. The image of the mother bear was prevalent throughout societies in North America and Eurasia, based on the female's devotion and protection of her cubs.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ward |first1=Paul |last2=Kynaston |first2=Suzanne |year=1995 |title=Wild Bears of the World |url={{GBurl|3dJ9QgAACAAJ}} |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Facts on File |isbn=978-0-8160-3245-7 |oclc=443610490|pages=12–13}}</ref> The earliest cave paintings of bears occurred in the [[Paleolithic]], with over 100 recorded paintings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=De Swart |first=Herman |date=2004 |title=Cave bears in prehistoric art; a survey from the literature |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/mhnly_1762-8024_2004_act_2_1_1405 |journal=Publications du musée des Confluences |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=121–128}}</ref> Brown bears often figure in the literature of Europe and North America as "cute and cuddly", in particular that which is written for children. "[[The Brown Bear of Norway]]" is a Scottish [[fairy tale]] telling of the adventures of a girl who married a prince magically turned into a bear and who managed to get him back into a human form by the force of her love after many trials and tribulations. With "[[Goldilocks and the Three Bears]]", a story from England, the Three Bears are usually depicted as brown bears. In German-speaking countries, children are often told the fairytale of "[[Snow White and Rose Red]]"; the handsome prince in this tale has been transfigured into a brown bear. In the United States, parents often read their preschool age children the book ''[[Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?]]'' to teach them their colors and how they are associated with different animals.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Newman, A. R. |year=1987|title= Images of the bear in Children's Literature|journal=Children's Literature in Education|volume=18|issue=#3|pages=131–138|doi=10.1007/bf01130991|s2cid=143882256}}</ref> [[Smokey Bear]], the famous mascot of [[United States Forest Service|U.S. Forest Service]], has since the 1940s been used to educate people on the dangers of human-caused [[wildfire]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gomaa |first=Sally |date=2012 |title=Visual Rhetorical Analysis: The Case of Smokey Bear |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41709687 |journal=JAC |volume=32 |issue=1/2 |pages=354–361 |jstor=41709687 |issn=2162-5190}}</ref>

Brown bears have been extensively featured in the culture of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], and are considered sacred. To stop a bear's spirit from escaping after it was killed, the [[Koyukon|Denaa people]] severed all 4 of its paws. They delayed consuming brown-bear flesh, owing to the belief that the bear's spirit was overwhelming in fresh kills. In addition, community members that wore [[Native American jewelry|bear claw necklaces]] were highly respected, as wearing one was seen as a sign of bravery and honor. The clattering caused by repeatedly shaking these necklaces were believed to bring forth therapeutic powers. In [[Haida people|Haida culture]], one legend has it that a marriage between a woman and a grizzly bear commenced the lineage of the native people. This is thought to have allowed the Haida to thrive in bear country.<ref name=":5" />

There is evidence of prehistoric [[bear worship]], though this is disputed by archaeologists.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Wunn | first=Ina | s2cid=53595088 | year=2000 | title=Beginning of Religion | journal=[[Numen (journal)|Numen]] | volume=47 | number=4 | pages=417–452 | doi=10.1163/156852700511612}}</ref> It is possible that bear worship existed in early Chinese and [[Ainu religion|Ainu culture]]s.<ref>{{cite journal | title=The Concepts behind the Ainu Bear Festival (Kumamatsuri) | first1=Kyōsuke |last1=Kindaichi | first2=Minori |last2=Yoshida | journal=Southwestern Journal of Anthropology |volume=5 |number=4 | date=Winter 1949 | pages=345–350 | jstor=3628594 | doi=10.1086/soutjanth.5.4.3628594| s2cid=155380619 }}</ref> The Romans built small carved figures of bears that were used during the burials of infants.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=O'Regan |first=Hannah |date=2023-09-04 |title=Brown bears in burials and entertainment in later prehistoric to modern Britain (c. 2400 BC – AD 1900s) |url=https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5365593 |journal=The Archaeology of Northern Europe |pages=187–208 |language=en |doi=10.1484/M.TANE-EB.5.134334|isbn=978-2-503-60611-8 }}</ref> In [[Greek mythology|Ancient Greek mythology]], bears were considered similar to humans, mainly due to their ability to stand upright. In many [[Western literature|western stories]] and older [[fable]]s the portrayed attributes of bears are sluggishness, foolishness, and gullibility, which contradicts the actual behavior of the species. For example, bears have been reported tricking hunters by backtracking in the snow.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bieder |first=Robert E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YX_xAQAAQBAJ&dq=info:93InEY8_ozcJ:scholar.google.com/&pg=PT8 |title=Bear|entry=Survivors |date=2005-08-18 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1-86189-482-3 |language=en}}</ref> 

In North America, the brown bear is considered a [[charismatic megafauna]] and has long piqued people's interest. The death of Bear 148 at the hands of a trophy hunter in 2017 sparked media outrage and the continued disapproval of trophy hunting.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hughes |first1=Courtney |last2=Foote |first2=Lee |last3=Yarmey |first3=Nicholas T. |last4=Hwang |first4=Christina |last5=Thorlakson |first5=Jessica |last6=Nielsen |first6=Scott |date=April 2020 |title=From human invaders to problem bears: A media content analysis of grizzly bear conservation |journal=Conservation Science and Practice |language=en |volume=2 |issue=4 |doi=10.1111/csp2.176 |bibcode=2020ConSP...2E.176H |issn=2578-4854|doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[Russian bear]] is a common [[national personification]] for Russia (as well as the former [[Soviet Union]]), despite the country having no officially-designated national animal. The brown bear is Finland's national animal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oppiminen.yle.fi/nisakkaat-muita-selkarankaisia/karhut-ilvekset/karhu-on-suomen-kansalliselain |title=Karhu on Suomen kansalliseläin |date=16 September 2010 |publisher=yle.fi |access-date=18 August 2016 |archive-date=11 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111235501/http://oppiminen.yle.fi/nisakkaat-muita-selkarankaisia/karhut-ilvekset/karhu-on-suomen-kansalliselain |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Riabov |first=Oleg |date=2020 |title=The Birth of the Russian Bear? The Bear Symbol in the Satirical Journals of the Russian Revolution of 1905 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27007706 |journal=Region |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=139–168 |jstor=27007706 |issn=2166-4307}}</ref> The grizzly bear is the state animal of [[Montana]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Symbols of Montana |publisher=Montana Historical Society |url=http://mhs.mt.gov/education/studentguide/Symbols.asp |access-date=18 August 2016 |archive-date=18 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218045709/http://mhs.mt.gov/education/studentguide/Symbols.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[California grizzly bear|California golden bear]] is the state animal of California, despite being extinct.<ref name= ca.gov>{{cite web |title=History and Culture – State Symbols |publisher=[[California State Library]] |url=http://www.library.ca.gov/history/symbols.html |access-date=24 September 2011 |archive-date=5 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105214315/http://www.library.ca.gov/california-history/state-symbols/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The coat of arms of [[Madrid]] depicts a bear reaching up into a madroño or [[Arbutus unedo|strawberry tree]] (''Arbutus unedo'') to eat some of its fruit. The Swiss city of [[Bern]]'s coat of arms depicts a bear and the city's name is popularly thought to derive from the German word for bear.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Deyermond |first=A. D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h04IHDeA4bkC&dq=info:hy5lQfAZSAIJ:scholar.google.com/&pg=PA177 |title=Festschrift |date=1997 |publisher=Tamesis |isbn=978-1-85566-051-9 |pages=177–187 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Swenson |first1=Jon E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I9553WUdBnYC |title=Action Plan for the Conservation of the Brown Bear in Europe (Ursus Arctos) |last2=Council of Europe |date=2000-01-01 |publisher=Council of Europe |isbn=978-92-871-4426-3 |page=69 |language=en}}</ref> The brown bear is depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 5-[[Croatian kuna|kuna]] coin, minted since 1993.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Majić |first1=Aleksandra |last2=Marino Taussig de Bodonia |first2=Agnese |last3=Huber |first3=Đuro |last4=Bunnefeld |first4=Nils |date=December 2011 |title=Dynamics of public attitudes toward bears and the role of bear hunting in Croatia |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2011.09.005 |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=144 |issue=12 |pages=3018–3027 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2011.09.005 |bibcode=2011BCons.144.3018M |issn=0006-3207}}</ref>