In Grizzly Confidential, author Kevin Grange--former paramedic and park ranger at Yellowstone and Grand Teton--comes face-to-face with North America's most fearsome predator, Ursus Arctos.
His quest takes him from his home in the Tetons to an eerie, mist-shrouded island of gigantic bruins; from the Bear Center at Washington State University--where scientists believe the secrets of hibernation might help treat diabetes, heart disease, and obesity in humans--to the dark underbelly of for-profit wildlife parks, illegal animal trade and black markets hawking bear bile.
Along the way, he meets fascinating biologists and activists and discovers that everything he knew about grizzlies was wrong. Ultimately, his odyssey leads him to find answers on a remote corner of the Alaskan Peninsula where, for the last fifty years, humans have coexisted peacefully alongside the largest gathering of brown bears on the planet.
Grizzly Confidential is about bears but also the inspiring people who look after them. This is a fast-paced, gripping story that educates, entertains, and gives a sneak peek into the secret life of a well-known species. Part science, part travelogue, and a passionate plea for bear conservation, Grizzly Confidential is a lively account for anyone who loves the outdoors and learning about the natural world.
Bears have always held a central place in our collective memory, from Indigenous folklore and Greek mythology to nineteenth-century fairytales and the modern toy shop. But as humans and bears come into ever-closer contact, our relationship nears a tipping point. Today, most of the eight remaining bear species are threatened with extinction. Some, such as the panda bear and the polar bear, are icons of the natural world; others, such as the spectacled bear and the sloth bear, are far less known.
In Eight Bears, journalist Gloria Dickie embarks on a globe-trotting journey to explore each bear's story, whisking readers from the cloud forests of the Andes to the ice floes of the Arctic; from the jungles of India to the backwoods of the Rocky Mountain West. She meets with key figures on the frontlines of modern conservation efforts--the head of a rescue center for sun and moon bears freed from bile farms, a biologist known as Papa Panda, who has led China's panda-breeding efforts for almost four decades, a conservationist retraining a military radar system to detect and track polar bears near towns--to reveal the unparalleled challenges bears face as they contend with a rapidly changing climate and encroaching human populations.
Weaving together ecology, history, mythology, and a captivating account of her travels and observations, Dickie offers a closer look at our volatile relationship with these magnificent mammals. Engrossing and deeply reported, Eight Bears delivers a clear warning for what we risk losing if we don't learn to live alongside the animals that have shaped our cultures, geographies, and stories.
At a certain point in my life I became fed up with the Equine industry, I didn't like the way people treated horses, I didn't like the way people talked about horses and I didn't like the way people looked at horses.
In despair and heart broke over the loss of my first love I gradually came to see horses in a new and different light, they became a canvas for me, there movement a form of art and the work I put in a practice of art, an expression of self.
This book strives to be a clinical discussion of art and art theory in the same vein as it's name sake, the classic treaties by Xenophon.
I do not expect the reader to finish this book and start up a career as a colt starter, yet I hope the reader finishes this book and and finds themselves compelled to study the lines of there horse, drawn to observe the movement of the eye and ear, staggered by the dimensional depth of each foot fall.
Were I to wake and find myself in some strange land that had no horses I would first find myself a pen and pencil and draw myself a horse to look at.
Nothing prepares you for a bear encounter better than learning from those who have experienced bears first-hand. Alaska Bear Tales is a collection of more than 200 real-life accounts filled with all the horror, courage, and even humor inherent when man meets bear. These bear tales are so intriguing-so unbelievable-that they often read like fiction.
Bears have always held a central place in our collective memory, from Indigenous folklore and Greek mythology to nineteenth-century fairytales and the modern toy shop. But as humans and bears come into ever-closer contact, our relationship nears a tipping point. Today, most of the eight remaining bear species are threatened with extinction. Some, such as the panda bear and the polar bear, are icons of the natural world; others, such as the spectacled bear and the sloth bear, are far less known.
In Eight Bears, journalist Gloria Dickie embarks on a globe-trotting journey to explore each bear's story, whisking readers from the cloud forests of the Andes to the ice floes of the Arctic; from the jungles of India to the backwoods of the Rocky Mountain West. She meets with key figures on the frontlines of modern conservation efforts--the head of a rescue center for sun and moon bears freed from bile farms, a biologist known as Papa Panda, who has led China's panda-breeding efforts for almost four decades, a conservationist retraining a military radar system to detect and track polar bears near towns--to reveal the unparalleled challenges bears face as they contend with a rapidly changing climate and encroaching human populations.
Weaving together ecology, history, mythology, and a captivating account of her travels and observations, Dickie offers a closer look at our volatile relationship with these magnificent mammals. Engrossing and deeply reported, Eight Bears delivers a clear warning for what we risk losing if we don't learn to live alongside the animals that have shaped our cultures, geographies, and stories.
For nearly twenty years, alone and unarmed, author Doug Peacock traversed the rugged mountains of Montana and Wyoming tracking the magnificent grizzly. His thrilling narrative takes us into the bear's habitat, where we observe directly this majestic animal's behavior, from hunting strategies, mating patterns, and denning habits to social hierarchy and methods of communication. As Peacock tracks the bears, his story turns into a thrilling narrative about the breaking down of suspicion between man and beast in the wild.
Bear Attacks of the Century recounts tales of bravery, documenting the most gripping encounters between humans and bears. Providing expert guidance on avoiding such incidents and offering insights to navigate encounters unscathed, this book is essential for anyone entering bear territory, whether hikers, hunters, or campers. It's also a valuable resource for those intrigued by these majestic yet potentially dangerous creatures, seeking a deeper understanding of their behavior and interactions with humans.
Do bear encounters stir primal fears entrenched deep within our psyche, evoking ancestral memories of when humans were prey? Some argue that nightmares featuring bears haunt them long before encountering one, whether in reality or through media portrayals. Tragically, these nightmares can materialize as horrifying realities. When facing bear attacks, individuals often display extraordinary resilience, performing near-superhuman feats in their struggle for survival.
The human survival instinct in bear encounters is nothing short of extraordinary, remarks a doctor who witnessed the harrowing aftermath endured by bear attack victims.
Praise for the second edition:
Norbert's gift as a photographer is his great curiosity about the natural world. His magic is displayed in photographs that weave light, color and action into a tapestry that tells volumes about life in the Far North.-- National Geographic Magazine
Highly recommended.-- Library Journal (starred review)
The polar bear is the largest terrestrial carnivore in the world, uniquely adapted to thrive in the harsh environment of the Far North. In The World of the Polar Bear, renowned nature photographer Norbert Rosing follows the polar bear through each season of the year.
This timely third edition has been fully updated and features more than 20 terrific new photographs. With its thorough and engaging text and spectacular photography, The World of the Polar Bear includes:
Polar bears are seriously threatened by global warming, and this book continues to explore this critical issue.
The World of the Polar Bear is quite simply the best book ever published on the polar bear.
In In the Company of Bears, originally published in hardcover as Out on a Limb, Ben Kilham invites us into the world he has come to know best: the world of black bears.
For decades, Kilham has studied wild black bears in a vast tract of Northern New Hampshire woodlands. At times, he has also taken in orphaned infants-feeding them, walking them through the forest for months to help them decipher their natural world, and eventually reintroducing them back into the wild. Once free, the orphaned bears still regard him as their mother. And one of these bears, now a 17-year-old female, has given him extraordinary access to her daily life, opening a rare window into how she and the wild bears she lives among carry out their daily lives, raise their young, and communicate.
Witnessing this world has led to some remarkable discoveries. For years, scientists have considered black bears to be mostly solitary. Kilham's observations, though, reveal the extraordinary interactions wild bears have with each other. They form friendships and alliances; abide by a code of conduct that keeps their world orderly; and when their own food supplies are ample, they even help out other bears in need. Could these cooperative behaviors, he asks, mimic behavior that existed in the animal that became human? In watching bears, do we see our earliest forms of communications unfold?
Kilham's dyslexia once barred him from getting an advanced academic degree, securing funding for his research, and publishing his observations in the scientific literature. After being shunned by the traditional scientific community, though, Kilham's unique findings now interest bear researchers worldwide. His techniques even aid scientists working with pandas in China and bears in Russia. Moreover, the observation skills that fueled Kilham's exceptional work turned out to be born of his dyslexia. His ability to think in pictures and decipher systems makes him a unique interpreter of the bear's world.
In the Company of Bears delivers Kilham's fascinating glimpse at the inner world of bears, and also makes a passionate case for science, and education in general, to open its doors to different ways of learning and researching-doors that could lead to far broader realms of discovery.
Get to know black bears, brown bears, and polar bears like never before--through Stan Tekiela's wildlife photography, personal anecdotes, and years of research.
They are icons of our wild places. They are powerful and intimidating, yet they signify calmness, comfort, and peace. Bears are adored around the world. They are magnificent animals that capture our fascination. Enter the world of bears with award-winning author, naturalist, and wildlife photographer Stan Tekiela.
Crawling into black bear dens in northern Wisconsin, trekking across the Manitoba tundra in search of polar bears, traversing the Rocky Mountains in pursuit of grizzly bears, Stan spent more than 20 years traveling across the United States and Canada to observe and photograph bears. He documented every aspect of their lives: major events such as mating and hibernation (torpor), as well as everyday activities including foraging, hunting, and socializing. The result is a striking portrayal of these mammals in Bears of North America. Stan's extraordinary photographs depict the creatures in a new, unique fashion. The coffee-table book is pleasurable to browse and easy to read.
Accompany Stan on some of the greatest adventures of his life. Explore North America's desolate areas with him, pursuing these resourceful animals. With his instinct for being in the right place at the right time, Stan utilizes rare opportunities to capture some of the most compelling images of his career. Through this book, you can share in his research and develop a new appreciation and respect for bears. Bears of North America is a must-have for lovers of wildlife and nature.
The bears of the world--from the polar bears of the Arctic to the Andean bears of South America--are among the most studied and loved of all wild creatures. In this revised and updated edition, Gary Brown collects what is known about the world's bears, capturing in words and images a complete factual compendium of bear knowledge for the amateur naturalist and the bear specialist alike.
The Bear Almanac is for anyone who has ever paused to wonder at both the might--and the mind--of the bear. Beyond their well-known, imposing physical traits, these generally shy creatures command the ability to learn rapidly and to reason. In addition to addressing such topics as bear physiology, social behavior, and habitats, this comprehensive resource lists endangered bears by state and covers a breadth of other bear-related topics, such as the effects of war on bears and what to do if you meet up with one, as well as issues in the news related to the most beloved, and mysterious, of creatures.
Confronts the unintended consequences of a conservation success story
Four decades ago, the areas around Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks sheltered the last few hundred surviving grizzlies in the Lower 48 states. Protected by the Endangered Species Act, their population has surged to more than 1,500, and this burgeoning number of grizzlies now collides with the increasingly populated landscape of the twenty-first-century American West. While humans and bears have long shared space, today's grizzlies navigate a shrinking amount of wilderness: cars whiz like bullets through their habitats, tourists check Facebook to pinpoint locations for a quick selfie with a grizzly, and hunters seek trophy prey. People, too, must learn to live and work within a potential predator's territory they have chosen to call home.
Mixing fast-paced storytelling with rich details about the hidden lives of grizzly bears, Montana journalist Robert Chaney chronicles the resurgence of this charismatic species against the backdrop of the country's long history with the bear. Chaney captures the clash between groups with radically different visions: ranchers frustrated at losing livestock, environmental advocates, hunters, and conservation and historic preservation officers of tribal nations. Underneath, he probes the balance between our demands on nature and our tolerance for risk.
The story of a grizzly bear named Millie: her life, death, and cubs, and what they reveal about the changing character of the American West.
An ode to wildness and wilderness (Outside Magazine), Down from the Mountain tells the story of one grizzly in the changing Montana landscape.
Millie was cunning, a fiercely protective mother to her cubs. But raising those cubs in the mountains was hard, as the climate warmed and people crowded the valleys.
There were obvious dangers, like poachers, and subtle ones, like the corn field that drew her into sure trouble. That trouble is where award-winning writer, farmer, and conservationist Bryce Andrews's story intersects with Millie's.
In this welcome and impressive work he shows how this drama is the core of a major problem in the rural American West--the disagreement between large predatory animals and invasive modern settlers--an entangled collision where the shrinking wilds force human and bear into ever closer proximity (Barry Lopez).
Andrews's wonderful Down from the Mountain is deeply informed by personal experience and made all the stronger by his compassion and measured thoughts . . . Welcome and impressive work.--Barry Lopez
Don't miss Bryce Andrews' powerful new memoir, Holding Fire.
If you have an interest in bears then Dave Taylor's sixteen years of research and photographs will keep your interest for hours with his new book. -- Scope Camping News Magazine
Dave Taylor has spent his life photographing and writing about North American wildlife. In this full color book with more than 100 photographs, maps and charts, Black Bears introduces the reader to this shy, reclusive and largely misunderstood animal with an encyclopedic examination of the black bear's world by state, province and territory.
Of the three species (grizzly/brown, polar and black bear), Taylor examines and portrays his devotion and passion specifically to the black bear, the most populous of the species. A specific section touches upon the bear and people, offering valuable advice when camping in their environment and what to do if one encounters a bear in the wilderness.