The Black Bear Almanac

About this book

Ursus americanus, the American black bear, can be found from Canada to Mexico. More and more, bears are becoming a familiar sight, not only where human development encroaches on the wilderness, but in suburbs across the country. Ever more in the news, sometimes for its amusing behaviour, often for its appetite for garbage, and even, rarely, for its predation on people, this is an animal that requires greater understanding. Much is known about the black bear, and even more is rumoured. This book contains beautiful photographs and the latest facts. It covers: origins and natural history; the black bear's body; black bear behaviour; a bear's life; black bears and people; obstacles to understanding; the black bear in legend, literature, and mythology; black bears and Native Americans; white settlers and black bears; black bears and modern cultures; hunting black bears: controversy and conflict; black bear attacks; bears and garbage; the eternal conflict; comic adventures; life in a zoo; research reconsidered; and conservation issues.

Customer Reviews

Biography

DAVID SMITH has worked in four national parks - Glacler, Yellowstone, Denali, and Glacier Bay - including a six-year stint as a winter keeper in the snowbound heart of Yellowstone. He's made a solo canoe trip the 700-mile length of the Yellowstone River. He once spent forty days and forty nights on a solo backpacking trip in a remote and rarely visited canyon in central Arizona, and emerged on his fortieth birthday. (No revelations.) Dave has worked as a guide in Alaska, where he took people to the Pack Creek Brown Bear Viewing Area on Admiralty Island. He's an avid outdoorsman and the author of Alaska's Mammals, Backcountry Bear Basics, and Don't Get Eaten.