There are so many things for bear cubs to learn about in the Great Bear Rainforest.

In A Shape in the Dark, wilderness guide and lifelong Alaskan Bjorn Dihle weaves personal experience with historical and contemporary accounts to explore the world of brown bears--from encounters with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, frightening attacks including the famed death of Timothy Treadwell, the controversies related to bear hunting, the animal’s place in native cultures, and the impacts on the species from habitat degradation and climate change. Much more than a report on human-bear interactions, this compelling story intimately explores our relationship with one of the world’s most powerful predators. An authentic and thoughtful work, it blends outdoor adventure, history, and elements of memoir to present a mesmerizing portrait of Alaska’s brown bears and grizzlies, informed by the species’ larger history and their fragile future.

Bears have fascinated us for millennia and are still an object of both affection and fear. This book is organised by month, starting in February, when new life is born. Throughout the seasons we observe the mating game, the fight for survival, scenes of playtime, and, as the autumn turns to winter, another long sleep.

Bears are unique. Although they are the world's largest carnivores, their diet is primarily vegetarian. They combine immense physical power with one of the keenest intelligences in the animal kingdom. They refuse to knuckle under to any kind of human domination. That is why we are tremendously fascinated by bears and tremendously fearful of them. Bears: Their Life and Behavior is a superb photographic study by Art Wolfe, one of the world's foremost nature photographers. He vividly portrays in their wilderness retreats and typical habitats all of the three North American bear species -- brown (grizzly) bears, black bears, and polar bears -- over 170 of his stunning photographs of bears in action: working and playing, food gathering, romping, fighting, and courting. There is an awe-inspiring close-up portrait of an Alaskan grizzly gaping at the camera. A brown bear catches salmon. A grizzly shows its speed chasing squirrels. Black bear cubs huddle against a tree. A polar bear feeds on kelp. A polar bear crosses an iced-over lagoon. Standing to full height on its hind legs, a polar bear checks out an intruder. William Ashworth has written an enlightening text based on exhaustive research and a working life spent primarily in bear country. In an introductory chapter he explores the human fascination with bears and their highly distinctive anatomy and physiology. Then he covers in great detail the three specific North American bear species -- where each one lives, their migration patterns, their summer and winter ranges, their habitat requirements, and the unpredictability of bear behavior and the reasons to be wary of them. Finally, he discusses bear management and conservation. This fantastically spectacular full-color book will thrill every nature enthusiast and lover of the great outdoors. Art Wolfe's photographs have appeared in National Wildlife, National Geographic, Smithsonian, Audubon, and Life magazines. His exclusive photographs enrich such books as Owls: Their Life and Behavior, Alakshak, The Kingdom and Light on the Land, and The Imagery of Art Wolfe. He lives in Seattle, Washington

Papa Bear takes care of things at home while Mama Bear goes away for a day.

Along the coast between Vancouver Island and Alaska lies 250 miles of forested island and inlets. Ian and Karen McAllister spent seven years photographing and mapping this forgotten wild ecosystem. Their informative text and remarkable photographs (including some of the most extraordinary images of wild bears ever published) present a complete picture of this unique area. 150 color photos.

In the tradition of the works of Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall, Timothy Treadwell offers an extraordinary account of the eight summers he spent alone with a pack of wild grizzlies along a remote stretch of the Alaskan coastline. After a misspent youth of drugs, alcohol, petty crime and brushes with suicide, Timothy Treadwell encountered some grizzly bears while tramping through the Alaskan outback one summer. In the eight years since, he has immersed himself in the society of these rare and fascinating animals, observing their culture, photo-graphing their antics and ever so gradually earning their trust. Crammed with little-known bear lore and facts, much of which Treadwell has gleaned from his own research, this is the first book to reveal the day-to-day behavior of bears in the wild. But it is more than an illuminating study of grizzlies. The young author's intimate association with these noble and complex creatures has inspired him to put his own life in order, and his personal story makes Among Grizzlies an exceptionally poignant and exhilarating reading experience.

Colorado author Linda Masterson dispels myths, replaces fear with respect, and lays the foundation for improving human-black bear relations with an inside look at the fascinating world of these highly intelligent, adaptable and resourceful animals found in 41 U.S. states and every province in Canada. With over 900,000 black bears roaming North America today, people from Florida to British Columbia are encountering bears more often, and as a result, human-bear conflicts are on the rise. This guidebook to life in bear country is packed with a wealth of useful and often surprising information, and down-to-earth advice from bear experts all over the continent, along with real-life stories from wildlife managers, organizations and communities who've discovered creative, workable ways for people and bears to share space. - Understanding Black Bears and Their Behavior - Bear-Proofing Your Home - Safe Trash Stashing - Hiking, Camping & Playing in Bear Country - Birdfeeding, Bee-Keeping in Bear Country - Gardening, Orchards & Farming in Bear Country - Bear Behavior Modification - Avoiding Encounters & Attacks - Appendix: bear organizations, volunteer groups, state agencies, resources and index Case Studies from National Parks, wildlife sanctuaries and communities in Colorado, Pennsylvania, Florida, Tennessee, Washington, Nevada, California, Minnesota and Canada.

Long ago we invited bears into our stories, our dreams, our nightmares, our lives. We have always sought them out where they live, for their hides, their meat, their beauty, their knowingness. Human country and bear country exist side by side. As Sherry Simpson suggests, the relationship between bears and humans is ancient and ongoing and, in Alaska, profoundly and often uncomfortably close. A huge number of North America’s bears live in Alaska: including at least 31,000 brown bears, 100,000 black bears, and 3,500 polar bears. And nearly every aspect of Alaskan society reflects their presence, from hunting to tourism marketing to wildlife management to urban planning. A long-time Alaskan, Simpson offers a series of compelling essays on Alaskan bears in both wild and urban spaces—because in Alaska, bears are found not only in their natural habitat but also in cities and towns. Combining field research, interviews, and a host of up-to-date scientific sources, her finely polished prose conveys a wealth of information and insight on ursine biology, behavior, feeding, mating, social structure, and much more. Simpson crisscrosses the Alaskan landscape in pursuit of bears as she muses, marvels, and often stands in sheer awe before these charismatic creatures. Firmly grounded in the expertise of wildlife biologists, hunters, and viewing guides, she shows bears as they actually are, not as we imagine them to be. She considers not only the occasionally aggressive behavior bears need to survive, but also the violence exacted upon them by trophy hunters, advocates of predator control, or suburbanites who view bears as land sharks that threaten the safety of their families. Shifting effortlessly between fascinating facts and poetic imagery, Simpson crafts an extended meditation on why we are so drawn to bears and why they continue to engage our imaginations, populate indigenous mythologies, and help define our essential visions of wilderness. As Simpson observes, “The slightest evidence that bears share your world—or that you share theirs—can alter not only your sense of the landscape, but your sense of yourself within that landscape.”

A natural history and celebration of the famous bears and salmon of Brooks River. On the Alaska Peninsula, where exceptional landscapes are commonplace, a small river attracts attention far beyond its scale. Each year, from summer to early fall, brown bears and salmon gather at Brooks River to create one of North America’s greatest wildlife spectacles. As the salmon leap from the cascade, dozens of bears are there to catch them (with as many as forty-three bears sighted in a single day), and thousands of people come to watch in person or on the National Park Service’s popular Brooks Falls Bearcam. The Bears of Brooks Falls tells the story of this region and the bears that made it famous in three parts. The first forms an ecological history of the region, from its dormancy 30,000 years ago to the volcanic events that transformed it into the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. The central and longest section is a deep dive into the lives of the wildlife along the Brooks River, especially the bears and salmon. Readers will learn about the bears’ winter hibernation, mating season, hunting rituals, migration patterns, and their relationship with Alaska’s changing environment. Finally, the book explores the human impact, both positive and negative, on this special region and its wild population.