did-you-know? rent-now

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

did-you-know? rent-now

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

We're the #1 textbook rental company. Let us show you why.

9781592289523

In the Company of Wild Bears : A Celebration of Backcountry Grizzlies and Black Bears

by ;
  • ISBN13:

    9781592289523

  • ISBN10:

    1592289525

  • Edition: 1st
  • Format: Trade Book
  • Copyright: 2006-09-01
  • Publisher: Lyons Press
  • Purchase Benefits
List Price: $22.95

Summary

Most people conjure up fearful images of mammoth-sized grizzlies with gaping mouths of razor sharp teeth when they think of bears, but wilderness aficionado Howard Smith and internationally acclaimed photographer Michael H. Francis show another side to these massive bruins. In the Company of Wild Bears melds fascinating real life human-bear encounters with never before seen world-class photography to create a unique experience most readers have only dreamed about. Instead of scaring people out of the forest, In the Company of Wild Bears invites them in to take a closer look at the lives of these incredible beasts.

Author Biography

Howard Smith is an inveterate wilderness junkie with a passion for anything outdoors. He lives in Boise, Idaho.


Michael H. Francis is an internationally renowned wildlife photographer who lives in Billings, Montana.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IX
FOREWORD XI
INTRODUCTION XIII
1 RETURN TO PRIMAL WAYS
1(18)
2 WALKING WITH ALASKA'S GREAT BEAR
19(30)
3 BAILEY'S BODACIOUS TETON ADVENTURE
49(20)
4 EARS BACK; CUB AT SIDE
69(22)
5 OSO CANELLA
91(24)
6 SEARCHING FOR GRIZZLIES IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES
115(14)
7 WHERE'S BEAR?
129(18)
8 PASS IT ON
147(14)
9 THE MAGIC OF WILDNESS
161(28)
10 BEARS, HUMANS, AND THE SPIRIT OF PLACE 189(18)
EPILOGUE: THE PRICE OF PASSION 207

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Excerpts

And then we see them.

Three huge brown humps graze below about fifty yards apart from each other. Buzzing high above to avoid any disturbance, the brown bears are feeding resolutely; they pay absolutely no attention to us. Their snouts are buried deep within emerald green grass, searching for tender shoots and yanking choice fistfuls for their pleasure. Occasionally each bear’s head rises to cop a quick look-see around before being stuffed back into verdant pasture. Only one bear bothers to look up at our plane as we skim overhead. Excitement meters peg as we realize it’s only minutes before we’re walking with them.

Gary eases back on the throttle and the great cacophony of engine roar lessens to something slightly quieter than a noisy motorboat. The Beaver slowly glides down as we turn over Cook Inlet away from a vast grassy plain where a good two-dozen brown bears are grazing. It’s almost comical to see these immense giants feeding like buffalo out in the sedge.

My mind is trying to cope with the realization that so many bears are congregated in one spot. I’ve seen photos of as many bears almost on top of each other at Brooks Falls and McNeil River here on the Katmai Peninsula. But, I never dreamed that I would have this unbelievable opportunity. At Brooks Falls and McNeil River the bears often sport white foam-flecked mouths, a sign of nervousness from proximity to other potentially lethal bears. In contrast, the brown bears beneath our wingtips show few physical signs of stress, perhaps due to the mile-plus width of this estuary meadow which enables them to spread out with room to spare—they’re often within ten yards of one another; occasionally isolated as far as a quarter-mile distant.

In part bears are congregating here because of lush vegetation growing almost exponentially in Alaska’s early summer warmth. Rich soil on these flats coupled with virtually endless sunshine provoking wild growth among sedge grasses add up to a bear’s buffet fantasy. The other factor drawing them here is the prospect of romance—it is breeding season.

For the most part they just mill around feeding. But, that doesn’t prevent a female from sidling up to a boar and nudging him a little with her head or body indicating her interest. More often it’s the boars that are pestering sows; hounding along behind females, close on their flanks.

Our approach tightens and the bears swing out of view. Now, forty feet above the coast, we curve sharply diving into a river melding with the sea and then it’s twenty feet, ten feet, and finally touchdown as pontoons grab milky glacial snowmelt throwing up spray, splash, and frothing white waves slowing our plane to a stop.
 
We’re home.

Excerpted from In the Company of Wild Bears: A Celebration of Backcountry Grizzlies and Black Bears by Howard Smith
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Rewards Program