<DIV><p>After the snows have melted, at the dawning of spring, in emerald forests, giants waken.&#160; They escape their underground lairs, somnolent, tousled ... And hungry!&#160; Some are alone and wander the forests in search of food and others of their kind.&#160; Elsewhere, miniature facsimiles - minor versions of these quarter ton leviathans - shadow others, tethering them closer to their dens.&#160; For centuries humans' link with bears has been tenuous.&#160; Whatever people's individual views, however, bears are absorbing and captivating creatures.&#160; Intelligent and adaptable, and instinctively caring, at the same time they can be lazy, belligerent and cantankerous.&#160; Always, however, they demand respect.&#160; They have survived for centuries at the top of the food chain, kings and queens of their environment - a creature to which all others bow.</p></DIV>