Chenoa

"No! Enough! I can't live with you anymore, Hakan! Go back to your territory. Find a mate! Raise cubs! My home's not with you. It's somewhere else."

— Chenoa to Hakan in River of Lost Bears, page 104

Chenoa
Biographical information
Species:	Black Bear
Cause of death:	Shock, fell over a waterfall
Family
Mother:	Unnamed she-bear
Brother:	Hakan
Book appearances
Living	River of Lost Bears
Living	River of Lost Bears
Dead	River of Lost Bears
Dead	River of Lost Bears

Chenoa (che-no-ah) is a young female black bear with warm, round eyes, a broad black snout, neat ears, and long legs.

History

In the Return to the Wild arc

River of Lost Bears

Chenoa assists Toklo and the Seekers on part of their journey to find Toklo and Lusa's home. After many encounters with both Chenoa and Hakan, her brother, Toklo finally agreed to save her from Hakan. Hakan always bossed her around because she reminded him of their mother who got hit by a firebeast trying to save Chenoa on the BlackPath.

Chenoa and all the others are overjoyed that she was able to travel with them, and Lusa is especially shown to bond with her.  But along the way, when they have to cross a treacherous river to escape flat-faces, Chenoa is hit by a floating log and dies falling over the edge of the waterfall. Lusa is crushed by this and descends into a dark mood that Kallik says she's never seen before.

Later, Lusa finds Chenoa's spirit-tree, a white birch. Lusa is delighted to find Chenoa.

A little while after, Lusa sees that flat-faces had transferred Chenoa's spirit-tree to the river with a lot of other spirits, drowning them. Lusa finally persuaded her hesitant friends to save the spirit-trees.

With the help of moose and beaver Ujurak, Lusa, and her friends push away the flat-face "vine" and free the spirits, including Chenoa.

Trivia

• Chenoa's spirit-tree is a silver birch tree.
• Chenoa's name means "dove." It also means "bird of peace" in a Native American language.[1]
  • Because of her name meaning, Chenoa will not eat doves because she feels it is wrong. She will also not eat snakes because her brother, Hakan's, name means "snake".

Family Tree

Unknown

Unnamed

Chenoa

Hakan

    = Male

    = Female

    = Gender Unknown