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rollsoffthetongue:

CALL OF NATURE

Origin:  Nature itself is all of the physical world and everything that happens in it. It’s similar in meaning to the environment. As humans we recognize and understand that we are a part of nature but we speak and act as if we were separate from it. A call of nature means you are getting a message from Nature. Nature is letting you know that you have to use the toilet. So your body must be a part of nature too. So what part is separate from nature, your mind? In polite English we generally don’t speak directly about our bodily functions, so we use other words to describe them. This is what we mean by a euphemism. In this case, saying that “nature calls” is a euphemism for letting people know that you are experiencing an urge to use the toilet. There are several variations of this euphemism, which is a true idiom as well. You can say, “nature calls “nature is calling” you can say that you’re getting or receiving or hearing a call of nature, etc.                      

Usage:   Informal, spoken, general American English.

Idiomatic Meaning:  The need to use the toilet; the need to urinate or defecate

Literal Meaning:  Nature, or your body, or the universe, or perhaps, God, is calling you.  Call usually means a sound, some words or even shouts, perhaps

Why is this funny?  The bear is answering or responding a call of nature, that is, it’s urinating out in the open. While doing this he hears another call of nature from inside the forest, suggesting that he be more modest and not urinate in public.

Sample sentence:  Stop the car now! I’m getting a call of nature.