Some stories are too good not to share. How the Bear family came to partner with Born Free USA – and what our work together means to all of us – is one such tale.
It all began in April 2019, when Eric Bear opened his email one morning to find a very unexpected message from Dr. Liz Tyson, Director of Born Free USA’s primate sanctuary. The message read:
Dear Mr. Bear and All at MONKEYmedia,
I hope you don’t mind me reaching out out of the blue, but I came across MONKEYmedia in some internet research and noticed that you are based in Austin, TX. I don’t know if you know this but the largest monkey sanctuary in the United States is based just down the road from you, in between San Antonio and Laredo. I know a lot of your work considers interaction so I wanted to say “hi” from one group of monkeys to another (!) and see if you might be interested in making a connection with us?
Eric, who was born in a year of the monkey and has a deep affinity with primates, was intrigued. Not only was the company he and his partner, Janna, co-founded in 1994 named after our closest cousins, but Eric has incorporated quadruped movement practice into his homework as an actor in film and television. Think Planet of the Apes. He literally ambles around hike and bike trails on all fours. And because of human actors like Eric using performance capture technology, animals no longer need to be exploited to make emotionally compelling movies.
Janna and Eric accepted Dr. Tyson’s invitation and a partnership was born. Through the years, the whole family got involved. With their grown children, Steven and Pema, the four Bears have all given time and treasure to help care for the hundreds of monkeys in our protection.
Intentional care is a theme in the family story. Pema and Steven are both adopted from China, creating a multi-racial family with varied outward appearance and diverse roots to honor and explore. Eric and Janna together chose a new surname, Bear, so that they would all share a common identity – a nod to their commitment to the animal kingdom in the growing of their family. In recent years, Janna and Eric have brought their children even more into their philanthropy. As part of this move, they’ve invited “the kids” to join the decision-making team of their private family foundation, which focuses on four key areas:
• Children-in-need
• Artists
• Animals
• The Earth
In 2020, the Bears donated (and personally installed) a campus-wide energy monitoring system for our primate site to help us better understand our energy usage patterns, identify faulty appliances, and dramatically cut costs. Another grant the Bears made to Born Free USA helped repair a section of a monkey enclosure that had been destroyed when a car ran into it. On hearing of the freak accident, the Bears responded immediately. This generosity was truly a life-saver for our monkeys.
Our work together is evolving. This summer, the Bear family went on a sustainable safari in Tanzania with Fair Trade Safaris. Their experience traveling together, witnessing the power of the animal kingdom in its most pure state – the wild – has been life-changing.
“As the designated photographer, I played with awareness on three levels simultaneously,” explained Eric. “There was an intellectual level – holding the camera, paying attention to settings, dials, focus and shot timing. There was the heart level – being connected with the poignancy of life, for example, mourning the passing of a wildebeest while celebrating a mother lion and her cubs receiving nourishment. Then, there was a third, deeper level – grounding and rooting the body, not only with the continent of Africa, but as integral to the Earth, itself.”
Janna explained further, “It was healing for our whole family. We were just animals amongst animals, together in a tapestry of life. When Pema was young, her love for animals led us to behind-the-scenes tours at zoos and other animal encounters to better connect with them. Now that we’ve gone to their home – rather than bringing them to ours – we will always know the importance of them being home. We see it as our collective responsibility to care for animals in their natural habitat.”
On their return, the Bears agreed to fund a project we call Monkey Business. They are helping Born Free USA acquire a much-needed ride-on mower, now affectionately named “The Bear,” and upgrading several climbing structures in our monkey enclosures to improve safety and fun for our residents.
The Bears are on a mission and we’re glad to be part of it, “We work with Born Free because we don’t see humans as separate from animals. We acknowledge that our world includes all beings, and it’s important that we expand the field of our love and care to include the full diversity of life.”
Eric and Janna can both be experienced on-screen as virtual humans in the award-winning performance capture series, Belonging, available to stream now on Apple TV.
