Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

a true story
Yes, this really is a true story. As a guide who watched Emmett get adopted by Baylee in the wild, I think it is fun to sharea story that really happened with kids.Amy's photo's show the summer life of bears as no others seem to do. (Even a bear can have a bad hair day!) This book is also suited for a coffee table book for adults, as the photographs are so interesting you can look at them over and over.

Pictures are awesome!
Reviewed by Brianne Plach (age 9) by Reader Views (5/07)

Imagine having to make your way through life without your mom and dad! It's not a very happy thought, is it? Well, imagine you're a grizzly bear and forced to find your own way. He is not yet old enough to live on his own but not a baby anymore either. He's in between ages. It's a pretty lonely time for young Emmett. He lives up in Alaska, where the temperatures range greatly. He travels to a cove where he is watched by visitors but no one knows just who he is or where he came from. He didn't have a name until the visitors started watching him.

There is a family of four bears living in the same area. Baylee is the mama bear with her cubs named Eleanor, Misha and James. Emmett likes to watch the family of bears, if only he could be a part of their family. The bear family seems to be having such fun. Baylee doesn't like Emmett being around and growls to get rid of him. Emmett was determined to make this family his. He makes friends with the little cubs and wins the mom over. Now he feels like a member of a family. We all need a little help sometimes and Emmett gets the help he needs from Baylee and her family.

"Growing Up Grizzly" is based on a true story of grizzly bears up in Southeastern Alaska. The pictures are actual pictures of bears in their habitats and doing what comes naturally to them. I especially liked the picture of the bear looking through a window of a cabin and seeing his reflection. He needed a friend. All the pictures are awesome! The book would be a delight for bear lovers, Alaska lovers and any others who would like a nice adoption story.

Note from Brianne's mother: Brianne has always liked the story of the three bears. "Growing Up Grizzly" is similar only without Goldilocks and with an additional bear. The storyline is excellent because it shows how it doesn't matter where someone comes from, he can be adopted into a family and find love and companionship. Even if the book was written for younger readers, it still brought a delight to this bear-loving reader.

A moving and wonderful true story
I dare you to finish this book with dry eyes.

This book is transformative!
This is the kind of book I want young people (of all ages) to experience. It is not just the exquisite photos, although they are, indeed, quite beautiful and heart-stiring. It is not just the compelling story line, although the narrative brings the reader right there--to Alaska--to BE with these amazingly beautiful and compelling creatures. Something special is happening in this book: by sharing her love, passion, and profound understanding of these magnificent animals photographer Amy Shapira's work has a transforamtive impact. Just as each of us has a personality, a family life, a community, and a neighborhood, Shapira shows us that tucked away in southeastern Alaska are animals with a fullness of being and experience. This precious book prompts me--as never before--to understand that on every inch of this planet, wherever life exists, there is sanctity and there is nobility. I will never look at bears--or any animals, for that matter--the same way again. ... Read more

Product Description
First published in 1943 but long out of print, "Meet Mr. Grizzly" was rated by J. Frank Dobie in "Guide to Life and Literature of the Southwest as "...the most mature yet published by a ranchman." Now this singular reminiscence by a remarkable man is drawing a whole new generation of readers.

Montague Stevens was much more than a one-armed British remittance man with a passion for bear hunting. Educated at Cambridge, he was one of the most literate chroniclers of New Mexico's rural history. That he lived in a time when grizzlies still roamed the wilds of southwest New Mexico makes Steven's observations of great interest to today's bear enthusiasts. His well reasoned comments on natural history, dog training, and the life of an early day cattleman are an invaluable reference. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Nice To Meet You, Mr. Grizzly
Meet Mr. Grizzly is an engrossing book that covers the exploits of the author as he hunted bear in and around New Mexico in the late 1800s. The writing style is clear and concise (what do you expect from a Cambridge graduate?) and the author does a wonderful job of describing his harrowing adventures. Perhaps unexpectedly, the reader will learn as much, if not more, about training hunting dogs than he will about the bears themselves. The author writes with wit, clarity, and a healthy dose of common sense. Anyone interested in big game hunting or the training of bloodhounds and other hunting dogs will find this book an absolute joy to read.

Great Read
Great Read if your interested in dog&horse Training or just a good true western story

Meet Mr Grizzly
An outstanding and well written book. This book is an absolute must for those who love the great bear. Even though it relates to hunting of the grizzly, it offers terrific insight into the personality and intelligence of this great animal that once roamed so much of the American west.

Western Americana Classic
Meet Mr. Grizzly is a great classic of Western Americana. It is also the best book on training dogs and horses that I have ever read. Montague Stevens was an Englishman who took up ranching in New Mexico in the late 1800's. Among the problems he faced in learning the business of cattle and sheep ranching were Apaches, rustlers, and stock-killing grizzlies. While this book provides a colorful and highly literate description of ranch life on the western frontier, it focuses primarily on the methods he developed for hunting marauding bears. These, in turn, depended largely on his genius in training dogs and horses. For me, the most fascinating aspect of this book is the gentle creativity and the shrewd experimental approach he applied in working with his animals. His experiences are described with clarity, modesty, and humor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Wonderful Read!!
As the owner of a huge bear book library, this is one of my favorites. It is wonderful to read accounts of the great bear roaming the Southwest, and sad to read about its demise. A must have for any lover of bears, wildlife or Southwestern U.S. history.

a nice fairy tale
If you're looking for real information, don't waste your time on this book. Like 99 percent of this sort of stuff, this was written from the safety of an apartment complex or suburban lot. It's easy to worship large predators and encourage others to do so when you spend so little time off the pavement.

the grizzly bear in the southwest
next to ghost grizzlies this is the best book on the subject.great history on attitudes on wildlife and how we still have not changed much since the last grizzly was killed.the ranching community still weilds to much power. ... Read more

Product Description
Deep in the wilds of Colorado’s San Juan Mountains there may still lurk a remnant population of the continent’s most fearsome mammal: Ursus arctos horribilis. By 1952 it was widely assumed that the grizzly had been extirpated from Colorado. That is, until one September evening in 1979 when a hunting outfitter named Ed Wiseman was attacked by a four-hundred-pound golden-haired sow. The mauled but alive man (and the dead bear) confirmed what knowledgeable San Juan residents already knew: the Colorado grizzly was no ghost.

What has happened since that encounter almost twenty years ago is the subject of this story about the bear and our own species in the wild—and what the future may hold for both.Amazon.com Review
After a century of declared war, Colorado's last grizzly wasofficially eradicated in 1952. But in 1979, while out bowhunting elkin the San Juan mountains, a guide named Ed Wiseman fought a big oldsow with nothing more than a broken arrow--and won. Was this truly the"last" grizzly? David Petersen, for one, would like to know. He tracksthe ghost grizzlies of the southern Rockies with a gusto that borderson mania, interviewing wildlife officials, hikers, hunters,taxidermists, and anyone else with a connection to the greatbear--hoping to find evidence that a few still range Colorado's ruggedbackcountry. He spearheads campaigns into the wilderness and studiessuspicious signs left behind. Ghost Grizzlies, his memoir ofthis search, is many books at once: it's a lesson in natural (andnot-so-natural) history; an elegy for America's lost wildness; a verypersonal rumination on what it means to chase an elusive spirit; and aterrific true-mystery story that will appeal to outdoors enthusiasts,wildlife fanciers, and anyone else who enjoys a good Western yarn. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Good Book.....A little too opinionated for me, though....
Definitely buy the book!It is an interesting read as it speaks of the different sightings/events throughout the state concerning Grizzlies.However, it does get a little tedious going through the politics of the subject.Opinions flare and sometimes come off as "eco-nut".Anyway, great book on a terrific mystery!

If you love what's left of the Colorado wilderness...
Dave Peterson is one of my favorite authors. If you love what's left of our Colorado wilderness and wish the great bear would return, then you'll adore this book.

Very Compelling
This book changed my entire outlook on the Grizzly bear in Colorado.The evidence is well presented without jumping to conclusions.There are many eyewitness accounts by experienced outfiters, ranchers and locals.There is also a great deal of well researched history on the Griz in Colorado and it's violent decline.

I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who cares about preserving the wild character of Colorado.This title has a special place in my library.

Oh give me home where the great bear roams . . .
David Peterson has compiled a thorough review of the evidence for and against (mostly for) the presence of grizzly bears in Colorado: Rio Grande National Forest and specifically the South San Juan Wilderness Area and adjoining lands.Having spent a lot of time in the area, I agree with Peterson's assessment of the wildness of the region and the possibility/probability of the grizzly's presence there.

Like most good books, more questions are raised than are answered.What happens if grizzlies are proven to live here?What assurances are there they won't be "managed to death" like other resources/wildlife?How capable are we at making decisions based on largely circumstantial evidence?Will/should we strive to obtain concrete proof?

I especially liked the accounts of the grizzly sightings and encounters.Peterson thoughtfully investigates each and the interviews with the survivors of encounters of yore are worth the price of the book.One aspect of the book that turned me off a little was Peterson's attitude toward people who derive their living from the National Forest.He paints them accross the board as a bunch of selfish ner-do-wells who have no respect for the wildlife.I disagree and it's interesting commentary from the author who, by his own admission, smokes Camels thoughout the Rio Grande National Forest.

One thing is certain, this is a spectacular corner of Colorado (and New Mexico - much of the area discussed is only a stone's throw from the border).I've stood atop Conejos Peak five times, stared down at the South San Juan, and marveled at its unspoiled beauty and rugged landscape.I've seen ptarmagan at the high mountain lakes, mountain lions in the wide open valles, and more elk than I can count.I know the real names of the geographical locales disguised by the author and, ironically, the real treasure of this region is in what it lacks:no major thoroughfares, no fourteeners, no ski areas, no big nearby population centers, and continual second billing to the trampled Western San Juans.This volcanic area is relatively unspoiled by mining, however, Peterson points to the nearsighted management practices of the National Forest Service - especially grazing - as a threat to the ecosystem, and grizzlies if they are there.

Here's what I think.Any grizzly living in the SSJWA is pretty darned good and not getting found.It's clear from the accounts that even individuals who spend a lot of time there rarely see compelling evidence of their presence.These bears won't be "proven to government standards" to exist without a huge undertaking that, as Peterson points out, would be unconscionable on many levels.

What's more, I believe there are a small handful of local backcountry locals who know for certain that grizzlies are alive and well in the Eastern San Juans.They keep it quiet to avoid the inevitable stampede that would ensue if they went public.I, for one, hope they keep the secret.Someday Colorado (and perhaps New Mexico) may be ready to deal with grizzlies in their midst.But, we are clearly not ready yet. . . . . .

A Complete and Intelligent Study
Buy this book. Buy it new, buy it used, buy it for your friends, buy it for your enemies. Petersen has written a thoughtful and thorough examination of recent grizzly bear management policies (or lack thereof) in the San Juans of Colorado. The book is a pleasure to read.

As someone who occasionally sees grizzers on his property, I can't conceive of living in an environment that doesn't have a population of apex predators to keep things interesting. Petersen masterfully chronicles how government funded assassins with the support of short-sighted local ranching communities and clumsy land managers, managed to kill virtually every grizzly in Colorado.He also accurately details how Western ranchers have come to view public lands with more than a sense of ownership but rather with a sense of absolute entitlement. This has led them to run their stock on federal land at ridiculously cheap rates, ignore even the most commonsense principles of husbandry, and push bears and wolves into the zoos and picture books while trying to keep everyone else out. Also to blame are the Baby Huey-like semi-rich, who hack 20 acre ranchettes out of the diminishing habitat and in the process are strangling the thing they profess to love most.

Petersen manages to stay somewhat balanced, using an essay by the outspoken and bearlike Doug Peacock to say what is probably really on his mind regarding sheep ranchers and development dingbats. In the course of researching the book, Peterson also forges unlikely friendships with former (but not reformed) professional and amateur bearslayers , including Ed Wiseman, who killed the last known Colorado grizz in hand to hand combat in 1979.

There is the general belief in the book that the great bear still lives in the San Juans but has become more nocturnal and reclusive as it adapts to its shrinking habitat. There are certainly drainages wild enough to support a grizz but I personally don't believe there are any left. My heart tells me that any state with a wildlife management policy as pathetic and dumbheaded as Colorado's can't have allowed for even a single surviving great bear. Also, I am reminded of a story in Scott Weidensaul's recent (and excellent) book on vanishing species entitled "The Ghost With Trembling Wings." Weidensaul tells the story of an animal who escapes from a European zoo and whose likeness is posted on the news. Consequently, hundreds of eyewitness calls come flooding in from all over the country, each caller claiming to have personally seen the critter. It turns out that the koala had actually been run over by a train several hundred yards from the zoo immediately after escaping. Weidensaul's point is that people WANT to believe something so badly, they convince themselves of its existence. And I'm afraid that is what we are doing with the Colorado grizzly. ... Read more

Product Description
Describes the life cycle, habits, and behavior of the grizzly bear. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

A Tragic and Riveting "Oldie-But-Goodie"
An oldie but goodie, this book was first published in 1969.It's about the night in 1967 that two teenage girls were killed in different places and by different bears in Glacier National Park.At that time, there had never been a documented death due to grizzlies in the park (although in the following decades it became the worst place for bear attacks in all the Lower 48 States.)

I'm glad I read this book just a couple of months after reading Bear Attacks and Mark of the Grizzly, because it really allowed me to see the contrast in the way people thought about bears in the 1960's compared to now.The attitude towards bears back then seems so naive.At that time, people were still feeding grizzlies even in the national park (although technically that had been made illegal, the rule wasn't enforced) in order to lure the bears out where they could watch them.Even the author, though aware of the danger of habituated bears, still believed that wild bears (ones not accustomed to humans or to eating human food) were not at all threatening to humans if they were left alone.And the general public clearly believed that national park bears were used to humans and thus harmless and practically tame.But bears that are accustomed to humans and their food are the most dangerous bears of all; and both of the bears who preyed on sleeping humans that night were habituated bears.

The other bear books I read described numerous attacks, but this book concerns just two, so it is able to go into far more detail. It also gives some information which I suspect would be too gory, too personal, and too risky (for possible lawsuits) to be included in a nonfiction book nowadays.All of which makes this the most intensely real and thus the scariest and most horrifying bear attack book of all the ones I've read.

Olsen tells us about the background and personalities of not only the two victims, but also of their companions and the witnesses, rescuers, and bystanders. There was an 11-year-old boy who was the most level-headed of all the bystanders in the chaos and terror of the emergency. His help and practical ideas were to prove crucial to the rescue.

One of the girls, Julie, lived for 4 1/2 hours after the attack, half of which time was spent alone, lying out in the bushes in the dark, never knowing when the bear might return, and in terrible pain, struggling to breathe with both lungs punctured and one lung collapsed as she slowly bled to death. People staying in a nearby lodge could hear her screams and moans throughout the night.

As the only park official present, it fell to a 22-year old novice ranger doing her very first guided tour, to make the call whether or not to attempt a rescue.She had already led a group from the lodge in the rescue of the Julie's companion, who had also been severely mauled but was able to make it to another party's campsite to get help.He survived, begging desperately the whole time for the rescuers to forget about him and go help the girl.But the bear had dragged the girl away. A few of the people at the lodge were insistent about trying to rescue the girl, but the young ranger refused to allow them to go.There were no firearms at the lodge, it was nighttime, and nobody knew where either Julie or the bear was.The risk was too great that they would not be able to save or perhaps even find the girl; and that others would also die in the attempt.(This young ranger did not have all the information and research available to her that we now have, but she made the correct - and very difficult - decision.It accords with today's leading bear attack expert Dr. Stephen Herrero's most up-to-date advice.)

Finally, a helicopter arrived with a team of armed rangers and a rescue could be made.The fight to save Julie's life is perhaps the most intense part of the book. There were three doctors - including a surgeon - among the guests at the lodge, and since the girl's condition was too critical for her to make it to a hospital alive, an improvised operating room was set up in the dining room.The wilderness lodge had no electricity, and the doctors worked by lantern and candlelight.The lantern that provided the main light for the surgery was held by the 16-year-old daughter of one of the doctors.

But 19-year-old Julie's wounds were too great and she had lost too much blood.Although the doctors never gave up and continued to work frantically over her, she died on the "operating" table. She remained conscious to the end, comforted by a priest who was staying at the lodge and who gave her Last Rites.The surgeon said that by the time she received medical attention, she could not have survived even if she had been in a state-of-the-art, fully equipped hospital.But he also said that, had she been rescued sooner after the attack, her life possibly could have been saved.

The other girl, Michele, also 19, was attacked many miles away and on the other side of a mountain range.She is thought to have died quickly, without going through the hours of pain and fear that Julie did.But Michele's death was also horrifying - she died all alone, having been abandoned by her four companions (including her 23-year-old boyfriend) who had fled in terror and all of whom escaped the attack unscathed by climbing trees.

Perhaps the most terrible thing of all is that these deaths were preventable.Park officials knew about the illegal bear-feeding situation in the area where Julie was killed, and that the backpackers' campground there was located right in the middle of a heavily-used grizzly route.The bear who killed Michele had been harassing campers all summer (including a troop of young Brownie Girl Scouts just a couple of days earlier), and many people who complained to the Park Service about it had been told that the aggressive bear would be destroyed.Also, Michele's companions had illegally brought a puppy along.Dogs - especially a young, weak one like theirs - are known to provoke bears to attack, a major reason why they are illegal on national park trails.All of the members of Michele's group were park workers who knew the rule.But when one member raised his concern about bringing the puppy, others lied, saying that it was okay as long as the dog was on a leash.

But the rangers were simply overwhelmed that summer.The weather was abnormally hot, and over 100 lightning strikes had occurred that week. (At the time, this was thought to be the reason for the unusual aggressiveness of the bears, but that theory has been debunked by Dr. Herrero and others.) All of the rangers were working around the clock fighting fires, and there just wasn't anyone available to deal with the problem bears until it was too late.

The story continues with the search for Michele's body, the hunt for the killer bears, and the autopsies that confirmed that the rangers had shot the right bears (along with a couple of other, innocent, ones.)One of the killer bears had two cubs, and the rangers shot at them, wounding one badly in the jaw but not killing it.The cub lived for almost another year, in constant pain and slowly starving to death because its jaw injury made it very difficult to procure food or eat it.

It is a riveting and tragic story that tells us so much more than the news stories ever do.These incidents led to mandatory bear-proofing of garbage and a crackdown on bear-feeding in the national parks - and later, on private land as well - that eventually led to a significant decrease in bear attacks on humans.(But only after a couple of decades of increased attacks.)

(This is a bit off-topic, but important:recently bear attacks have been increasing again, probably due to the ever-increasing number of humans visiting the wilderness.And although supposedly even private landowners in bear territory outside of national parks are now required to bear-proof their garbage, I personally witnessed they they don't always.I was in Cooke City, Montana two days after last July's bear attacks, which included one fatality.We got food from a take-out-only restaurant located about 1/2 mile from the campground where the attacks happened.The restaurant's garbage can was an old oil drum lined with a plastic garbage bag, and it didn't even have a lid.At 11:00 at night it was sitting outside on the porch, out of view of the workers inside.No doubt they bring it in when they close at midnight, but in the meantime, there it was . . . an open invitation to grizzlies to come on over for a little snack.We had to wait outside on the porch right next to the garbage can about half an hour for our food to be cooked.It was a little nerve-racking, and at that point I hadn't even heard about the attacks yet!)

Night of the Grizzlies has some excellent black-and-white photos, including pictures of the victims, the campsites; the doctors, ranger, and other rescuers at the lodge the next day; and the dead bears - even one photo of the bear that killed Michele while it was still alive, taken by one of the Brownie girls a couple of days earlier.

The book ends with a prediction that grizzlies will gradually be transported or destroyed until they are totally eliminated from the Lower 48 States.Fortunately, the four decades since the book was published have proven Jack Olsen wrong about that.But he was also wrong about grizzlies never being a threat to humans if they are left alone.

(222 pages)

Hiking in the Long, Hot Summer
Night of the Grizzlies, by Jack Olsen


This 1969 book tells about Glacier National Park in Montana where two young women were killed by grizzly bears in August 1967. No one had ever been killed by Ursus Horribilis in the history of the park. But the 1960s saw an increase in tourists and visitors to this park. Some people slept in the park instead of the stone house. They believed this was safe because attacks were rare. The `Prologue' describes the landscape of Glacier National Park. It is the last refuge for some endangered species, such as the Rocky Mountain wolf and the mountain lion. The bison and kit fox are nearly extinct. Hunting is banned by definition, except for park officials.

Glacier National Park is famous for its grizzly bears ("streaked with gray") and many visit for the rare sightings. Those bears vary in color, but are recognized by a hump above the shoulders. They have poor eyesight but an extremely sensitive nose. They can move with a high rate of speed, and climb trees. They normally avoid man, unless they turn rogue. Bears hate and attack dogs. Dogs are banned in Glacier National Park, but there were few checks in the 1960s. Bears hibernate during the winter. They must eat to store fat in autumn, and awake hungry in the spring. Bears are omnivores, like man, pigs, and rats. They will eat anything. Their favorite food is berries, which have more calories per pound than meat. Early settlers hunted grizzlies for edible meat. Later grizzly bears were killed off to save gardens, cattle, pigs, and sheep.

Grizzly bears were not a danger to man in the early days when visitors traveled by horse before WW II. The increase in the number of visitors on foot led to incidents. A bear that was a threat would be trapped and relocated, or quietly killed. Some people went hiking in Glacier National Park and were never seen again, dead or alive. This book tells how the stone chalet is staffed by seasonal workers. Garbage was supposed to be burned, but a great increase in visitors generated too much so it was dumped. Grizzly bears fed there at night.

One night a bear attacked campers. Julie Helgeson was mauled and died from blood loss after being found and treated. At another location a bear attacked and killed Michelle Koons. Was the attack the "fault" of the victims? Who was "acting naturally" (p.140)? The two bears who visited the garbage dump were dispatched. There were no "signs of guilt" in their stomachs (p.148). The rangers waited, another night brought a sow with two young cubs. This was a killer bear (p.154). Then another bear appeared with hostile intent at Trout Lake; it was dispatched. There rangers were ordered to remove all traces of dead bears before reporters arrived (p.157).

The `Epilogue' says human hair was found in the Trout Lake grizzly (p.166). A bear terrorized campers for three months (p.168). The real cause was the great increase of hikers in bear country (p.169). The hot summer of 1967 reduced the berry crop that was the main food for bears (p.170). [A poor economy results in more crime, for bears as well as humans.] New rules banned leaving garbage behind and increased bear control. Some called for the elimination of all grizzly bears (p.174). [But would there be immigration control from Canada?] Maybe there should be "hiker control" (p.175)?

Excellent book
Very Scary book based on true events. Don't read if you plan to camp in bear country.

Scare-O-Rama
Great, well-written, true-life account of the infamous Glacier National Park grizzly attacks.But now I'm afraid to take the trash out to the curb at night.Superior to the lesser copycat work: "Night of the Smoky Mountain Black Bears", recounting tales of ravaged trash barrels, violated Igloo coolers, and steaming malodorous heaps left behind at mid-campsite.

My cousin
I read this book a couple years after it came out. I am now reodering it for my daughter as I have lost my original copy.One of the girls in this book was my cousin who was a couple years older than me at the time this happened.I could not read it at first but later could not put it down. Well written and respectful of the victims and their families. I have been to this park and it is truly beautiful. ... Read more

Product Description
One of the truly scarce books of outdoor sport and Western Americana, "Hunting Grizzlys, Black Bear and Lions" is herein available in an affordable reprint edition. Written by Will Evans and other members of the pioneer Evans family, these first-hand memoirs offer a rare look at ranch life and big-game hunts in the Davis Mountains of West Texas and the Gila region of southwest New Mexico, 1880s to 1920s. We read what is perhaps the only account on record of the grizzly bear in Texas; another grizzly hunt, in New Mexico, goes on for days and takes hunters, horses and hounds to the limit. Black bears, mountain lions, and outlaw cattle round out these authentic, unvarnished recollections.

Sadly, the grizzly is gone from the Southwest, and the black bear virtually gone from West Texas. Here are the life, times and adventures when bears and panthers roamed "big-time" across the Southwest wilderness. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

wild yarns
poor hearsay writing, sound like campfire storytelling...sorry i wasted my money....my advice to you...don't

Hunting "Big Time"
A short but informative book that documents the grizzly bears' existance in west Texas. ... Read more

Product Description
In describing the true events surrounding a series of frightening bear attacks in l980, a bestselling nature/adventure author explores our relationship with the great grizzly.

Many citizens of Banff, Alberta, valued living in a place where wildlife grazed on the front lawn; others saw wild bears as a mere roadside attraction. None were expecting the bear attacks that summer, which led to one man’s death. During the massive hunt that followed, Banff was portrayed in the international media as a town under siege by a killer bear, and the tourists stayed away. The pressure was on to find and destroy the Whiskey Creek mauler, but he evaded park wardens and struck again — and again. When the fight was over, the hard lessons learned led to changes that would save the lives of both bears and people in the coming years.

Sid Marty’s The Black Grizzly of Whiskey Creek is an evocative and gripping story that speaks to our complex and increasingly combative relationship with the wilderness and its inhabitants. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The Insider View
After reading the account by Stephen Herrero of this bear and the events surrounding its attacks in Banff and its ultimate death, I have remained intrigued and wishing I knew more details. Sid Marty has done that in his book. Herrero is a noted and respected bear biologist who reports the facts. Sid Marty has gone into the hearts and minds of those involved with this bear and has tried to describe the whole situation from both a factual and personally descriptive manner. I was very satisfied when I finished the book, as Marty had given me the insider story of what went on in the park, in the minds of the people, and even in the mind of the bear. I think he told a great story, regardless of any negative critiques on Marty's writing style. I am keeping this as one of my "forever" books on my special bookshelf.

Awesome
This book rivals Jaws, only instead of a scary box office smash hit fiction, this one really happened.Marty would make Stephen King proud with this.

Nature's Beauty; Nature's Wrath
I read this book while returning from another hiking/camping trip in the Canadian Rockies just two days ago.I was, in fact, camped about a mile from the scene of the Black Grizzly of Whiskey Creek serial maulings twenty-eight years ago.

Time and distance do not make the telling any less horrifying, the issue any less compelling. Sid Marty weaves natural history, bear biology, ecology, politics, spirituality, and the imagination of both the bear and ourselves in a book that is, in turn, frightening, beautiful, and sad.

The history of man-bear conflict is a long and fascinating one; and there is a long list of books on the subject. This is among the very best.

Marsh Muirhead - author of "Key West Explained - a guide for the traveler." ... Read more

Product Description
The Lost Grizzlies chronicles the ongoing search for proof that a small number of grizzly bears still lives in the isolated mountain wilds of southern Colorado. Rick Bass turns his considerable talents to an evocation of wilderness beauty and the history of human encroachment that may, or may not, have wiped out the last of these massive, solitary bears from their southern range. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Bass paints a vivid picture
This book is a beautiful exploration of sense of place, married with a urgent discussion of the disappearance of wild places in the West.Bass' characters are vibrant and humorous.This is one of the best nonfiction 'green' books I have ever read.

Still an open question.
Rick Bass challenges us to reconsider the question of whether there are grizzlies left in the wilderness of the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado.It is a question that is not easy to answer with a "yes" or "no".So what if he or someone else finds evidence as in traces of grizzly hair in scat, or sizes of footprints in the mud, or claw marks on the trunks of aspen trees, or better yet, has a brief encounter with what looks or sounds like a grizzly bear?This may well be the last survivor(s) of a population that is doomed for extinction, whichmany people have prepared themselves to accept or acknowledge.Besides, documenting their existence may bring more intruders (hunters, outfitters, biologists included) to this fragile wilderness, thus accelerating the demise of this once-mighty population.The real issue here is not whether they are still there, but whether knowing that they may still be there is enough for us to respect their right to be left alone, to leave their domain untrammeled, and lessen our own ruination by ensuring a greater natural legacy to future generations.

Bass embarked on two separate off-trail adventures into the wilds of the San Juans with the hunch that the great bear might still exist.On the first trip, which was early fall, he seemed to idolize Doug Peacock, who was schooled in the wilderness philosophy of the late Edward Abbey from both friendship and experience traveling together.On the second trip, which was early summer, Bass, although traveling with a larger group, pushed further into the wilds by himself at one point and experienced an epiphany. In both trips, Bass shares with his readers his deep appreciation of the wilderness, recalling the insights of nature writers as Aldo Leopold, Barry Lopez, and Wallace Stegner.The temptation to go willy-nilly in personal introspection, however, recalls the negative aspects of Jon Krakauer.His occasional rambling about ions and mutations makes him a scientific dilettante that can mar the reading experience.He mistakenly refers to "Adirondack National Park" (Adirondack Park) in comparing the San Juans to other wilderness areas.Influenced by Peacock, Bass detests the conventional methods wildlife biologists use to study the distribution of wildlife populations and recommends a more sensitive methodology that does not rely on direct documentation or technological gadgets.

What good is a wilderness--and why call it as such--if the elements that have beheld mankind and have captured our imagination and instilled dread for so long, such as its fiercest predators, are gone?When people like Bass and Peacock tread quietly in wilderness and finds evidence of a remaining wildnessin places like the San Juan Mountains, there is reason for optimism.The natural world is all the more interesting when we find, in addition to scenery and natural splendors, an enduring ecosystem that should be left alone for others to see, wonder, and experience.

Needed less pomposity
Author Rick Bass recounts three years of annual efforts to find evidence of grizzly bears in Colorado's San Juan mountains. Each time, he heads into the woods with a colorful cast of characters, most notably Grizzly Years author Doug Peacock. Their goal is to document the presence of the endangered grizzly; success will presumably spark a reaction in the government and conservation agencies to take efforts to protect both the grizzly and its environment. Bass finds what appears to be plenty of evidence, culminating in a terrifying encounter with a large male grizzly from 30 feet away. The centerpiece of the book is on the way that Bass and his companions interact with the environment around them, be it the woods, or the towns and ranches that they visit for one reason or another.
The Good and the Bad:
As much as I liked isolated sections of this book, the drawbacks left me colder than a group of activists on a mountain peak at dusk. The good things included a worship-inspired look at Peacock, who is shown to be a modern day Johnny Appleseed in that he is far more comfortable in the wilds than among the people. Peacock charges off into the brush cursing when agitated; and he is liable to charge into the brush cursing when he is happy and excited, too. At a meeting with a fundraiser, he turns down money because he has been asked to have contact with a donor in exchange for the funds. He is motivated by unexplained feelings, mysteries of the woods, and mystic natural signs whose meanings he comes up with unaided. The fact that Bass seems to worship Peacock only becomes annoying when Bass attempts to insert himself into the relationship by intimating that he understands Peacock better than others in the group (I'm not even saying he doesn't, just that it detracts from the narrative). In most cases, the hero-worship merely serves to enhance the story, as we get behind a mythologizing of a man that even critics would call strongly individualistic.
We also fail to get a good idea of how the larger movement to document and thereby save the grizzlies is progressing. We don't know exactly what proof will produce what effect, and so the real-life impact of the mission is de-emphasized to the extreme.
I have three other main complaints; the first is that the large majority of the conservation ethic articulated by the characters is extremely basic. There's a lot of quoting of Leopold, and a repeated return to the idea that we are all a part of the forest, that every unit is dependent on related parts, etc. He not only presents these ideas with the pride of their creator, but he goes over them again and again, with minor variation. Better was when he talks about specific issues, such as the ethical considerations of radio-collaring a bear (although we never get the pro side of that statement). Another interesting set of information is given by a character named Tolisanti, who gives a discussion on how many creatures are needed to preserve a species, and what roles different species play in terms of conserving an environment.
The second main complaint is Bass's annoying tendency to read spiritual overtones into almost everything. The quality of light, the sighting of a bear skull, the accidental discovery of a hunter's camp; everything has a meaning. And Bass doesn't think that he's coming up with the meaning, he clearly reads that the forces of nature are communicating with him, directly and on purpose. A meadow is happy that he's leaving, although it didn't mind his presence while he was there, for example. And there is a constant return to the idea that the existence of grizzlies is a function of the spirit of those who seek them rather than their own mechanizations. This might be ok for another reader, but I want more hard facts and far less spiritual rhapsody about how Rick Bass is a receptacle that nature chooses to fill with portent.
Finally, I have a big problem with Bass's attitude that his own conservation ethic, which has a heavy basis in a Native American-like basis of respect for each creature, is the only proper one. He repeatedly refers to academics and bureaucrats in wildlife management in a demeaning manner, drawing a deep division between himself and paper-pushers. While I personally share many qualities and sympathize entirely with many aspects of the hippie movement, my sympathies fall short of condoning some of the bizarre attitudes. The way to save the woods might include a frontiersman-like effort to catalogue what's out there, but it also includes involvement by the government, as well as a lot of the hard scientific work conducted in the laboratory. Just because everyone's not a Davey Crockett doesn't mean that everyone doesn't care about preserving wildlife.
What I learned:
The Hundred Years rule of thumb asks what population size is needed to give itself a 99% chance of survival for 100 years. There is a new idea in conservation that preserving wildness might be better sized by establishing a series of concentrated rings, with more human activity allowed in the outer rings, but little to no activity allowed in the central rings. This allows for less chafing on both sides of the fence, for both civilization and the wild. Different types of species as far as conservation goes include keystone species, which anchor a set of inter-special relationships; indicator species, which give early warning when something bad is happening to an environment; flagship species, which are the sexy animals that might motivate the public to devote energies to conserving an ecosystem; and recovery species, which indicate that an ecosystem that has been damaged might be coming back to life.
Also, and most interestingly, when hunters shoot bears who have just recently emerged from hibernation, they may find live ants scurrying around in their stomachs, which have not yet begun to produce stomach acid.

Defining
I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of the trail, but as science it dosen't bother to include any. Only the fact that standard conservation biology principles are ridiculed. Unfortunately this population of Ursus arctos horribilus is all but gone. They are at California Condor levels if present at all. They see one bear, but what of the DNA analysis? Bass does not tell us here. Bass's bear is more a vision than a reality.

The crowd of Earth First!ers from Tuscon and points north represented by the volatile-tempered Doug Peacock, that has allowed Rick Bass to join is a select band of outlaw literary types, that worship the wild and lament its demise. I share this sadness and want to prevent it myself, but my twelve years working as a fish and wildlife biologist did little to encourage me that this is possible. By aligning himself only with outlaw radicals whose personal behavior screams "left-wing enviro-nut" these noble ideas will be hard to sell by these messengers. Only with mainstream acceptance will change occur.

In Bass's home territory of Yaak, Montana this will be a hard sell. Libby is a devastated lumber town where I once worked for the U.S. Forest Service. I was so discouraged that I quit early and left town never to return. Bass runs with a select clique who live in Livingston, Montana a sort of "Hollywood North" of rich and famous actors and artists the likes of Peter Fonda, Tom McGuane, Dennis Quaid, the brothers Bridges, an endless list. But it's the outlaws like Dave Forman the founder of Earth First!that run the underground sects of the environmental movement, and they have a terrorist thesis; "Monkeywrenchers" as Ed Abby envisioned. Peacock is the model although he does not actually commit vandalism acts himself. They don't accept newcomers into their ranks easily; particularly impoverished writers from the "sticks."

I wrote Mr. Bass once of my efforts chronicled in my first book "Against A Strong Current," on these conservation matters and received no reply. Acceptance by this group is not my goal but credit is difficult to get, even if one has extensive credentials and a government work record that takes place on scene as part of the in house system working for the same change. It is easy to be upstaged by amateurs. Bass seeks to sell romance sans the "Guzzi" consumerish trappings. This work is a success at that, but it is not in any sense, biology.

I Believe It Was a Grizzly
This book is a unique combination of comedy, real-life adventure and a luminous testimony to one of America's most endangered and mythical beasts. Bass is at his best here, capturing the hearts of his readers through an alternately hilarious and spine tingling account of his journey into the Colorado mountains in search of grizzly bears.

The problem facing Bass and his two friends is that the grizzly bear is believed to be extinct in Colorado.However, several undocumented sightings and signs have convinced them that the bears exist in the remotest regions of the mountain range.Thus they are out to do all they can to locate bears and document their findings.

In the resulting adventures we find the three companions trapsing through woods, sliding down canyon walls, confronting bureaucrats and tracking down bear sign. Things are complicated, and given a distinctly uneasy quality, by the behavior of Doug Peacock. Peacock, himself a well-known author and champion of the grizzly bear, is plagued by frequent and dramatic mood swings.His alarmingly volatile temper, moments of intense introspection and frequent outbursts of graphic profanity have the reader feeling like he/she is walking on eggshells.Because Bass has done such a good job of describing his friend, and how he came to be the way he is, it's easy to forgivePeacock his peculiar behavior. However, it is not easy or pleasant to read.

As the story unfolds, and the three men get closer to their goal, the tension becomes almost unbearable. When Bass finally sees a bear, after months of exhausting effort and disappointment, the scene unfolds in classic Bass technicolor with heart racing clarity and insight. "When I am ten yards from that fallen tree - which I am all but ignoring, focusing on the deer - a creature leaps up from behind it, seemingly right in my face, a brown creature with great hunched shoulders. It's a bear with a big head, and for the smallest fraction of time our eyes meet. The bear's round brown eyes are wild in alarm, and mine the same or larger, I'm sure. The bear's rich chocolate color, like a moose and nearly as big, an animal of such immense size that indeed my first thought, the one right before fear, is: That bear's as big as a moose!"

I won't ruin the suspense by telling you what happens next. It should be enough to know that Bass neither disappoints nor fails to find deeper currents of truth running beneath his experience. This is another book that shouldn't be missed. Just don't expect it to reveal its gifts easily. ... Read more

Product Description
This book pits gigantic polar bears against ferocious grizzly bears, awarding points for survival skills such as strength, size, hunting ability, and camouflage.At the end of the book, the points are added up to discover the overall winner.But which animal will it be?Read this book to find out! ... Read more

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An Indian boy tries to awaken a sleeping bear because he wants its furry skin to warm him during the cold winter. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Very Odd Book - a review of "Indian Two Feet & the Grizzly Bear"
I have to admit *I don't get it*.While the artwork is simple and sweet, I don't get why this book was written.

The story begins nicely enough with a little boy's request for a blanket.A Native Americanhe tells his parents that he needs a blanket to stay warm during the winter.In response to this request, his father tells him (the boys name is Two Feet) that he will have to acquire the skins of 10 squirrels, or 9 rabbits, or 8 possums, or 7 beavers, or 6 raccoons, or 5 wild cats, or 4 foxes, or 3 wolves, or 2 deer, or 1 bear.

The boy aims high and decides to hunt a bear.The only problem is that the local bear has already begun to hibernate, so that if the Two Feet wants to kill the bear, he'll have to him to come out of the cave.

To solve this problem, the boy brings a drum and begins to bang away outside the cave in an attempt to wake the bear.When the bear doesn't wake up his father says:

`You foolish little Indian.A little Indian does not scare a great big, furry grizzly bear.'

The next day (after this rather unhelpful comment) the boy takes honey to the cave with the hope that the bear will smell the honey and come outside.This plan fails when two raccoons come along and devour the honey.

After that, Little Two Feet catchs some fish which he then takes to the cave.But surprise, the bear isn't home.He has gotten hungry and left his cave in order to look for more food before the big snows come.

Boy and bear do finally meet, however, when the bear smells the fish, takes the line and devours them all.Despondent, Two Feet goes home."He knew now that grizzly bear would sleep all winter in his big, thick, warm, furry skin."

The story ends with a picture of Two Feet's mother and father watching him sleep underneath a warm woolly blanket that his mother has made.

"Sleep well, little Two Feet," said his father."When you are bigger, you can catch a grizzly bear."

Now maybe it's me but this ending seems a little anti-climatic.And I'm not exactly sure what the message is.Is it that mom's are creative and needn't kill anything to accomplish some ends?Is it that Little Two Feet should have not picked the large bear to `catch' but rather that he should have aimed lower and killed the 10 squirrels?

I'm totally clueless as to what the moral of this story is, which makes me wonder why it was in my kindergarteners library.A legacy from an earlier time no doubt.

Two Stars.I have to say that I am surprised that this book is still in print. ... Read more

Product Description
Describes grizzly bears, their habits, where they live, their hunting methods, and how they exist in the world of people. ... Read more

Product Description
Spend a year in the wilds of Alaska with the most ferocious of American mammals. From spring thaw through the endless light of Arctic summer, from the spectacular and panoramic color of the short Alaskan autumn to the deep snows of the bitter polar winter, noted wildlife photographer Michio Hoshimo tracks a family of Alaskan grizzlies. In photograph after fascinating photograph, he captures the intimate details of their lives in the wild, whether at play or on the hunt. This is wildlife photography at its very finest, set against the rugged and awesome beauty of the Alaskan wilderness. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (5)

Dated, but not without its interest
This book tells the personal side of a major study of grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park in 1959-1968.It doesn't tell you much about the scientific motivation for the study or for the team's activities.Based on the stories, the plan seemed to be, "Let's put radio collars on grizzly bears and see how much stuff we can learn."They were particularly interested in finding winter dens and trying to monitor temperature of the den and the vitals of the bears.

But the Craighead brothers don't seem to be very self-conscious about what they're doing, and why.Their scientific ethics and social attitudes are also very much grounded in the 1950s, for whatever that's worth.

There's a lot of information about Yellowstone grizzlies in here, though of course a lot of later scientific progress has been made.Some of the other reviewers mention how valuable this information can be if you're traveling in grizzly country.I'd recommend against reading the book that way.The science is old, and grizzly behavior varies by location.Barren ground grizzlies in the Arctic, salmon-based bears on Kodiak Island, berry- and moth-eating bears in Glacier NP, and pine nut-dependent bears in Yellowstone are bears of a different color (sometimes literally).Read this book as a bit of the history of science.

The final chapter and the epilogue cover the controversy with the Park Service over grizzly bear management.This ultimately led to the Park refusing to allow the Craigheads to continue their research.Craighead is understandably bitter and defensive, but also mostly in the right.Because the Park Service refused to listen to the Craigheads, human-bear conflicts were unnecessarily high for a decade, and we lost more than one-third of the grizzly population.We also had at least two human fatalities that took exactly the form that the Craigheads predicted.These accounts of the conflicts with the park service are the most interesting part, and most lastingly relevant, of the book.

Great Study of the Great Bear
Are you thinking about backpacking in grizzly country? Well, then you need to learn a bit about the biology and behavior of the bear. While on a trip to Alaska this year, I did some reading and learned that grizzlies are largely nocturnal, feeding mostly at night and denning up during the day. Craighead's book confirms this, and provides a lot of other useful information. He and his brother did research on the Yellowstone grizzly population for around a decade, but park management rejected their expert advice when grizzly management became a hot political issue after two tourists were killed by bears in 1967. This aspect of the book is of course dated, and there is no update on the current state of the Yellowstone grizzlies, but nevertheless this is an excellent book for anyone planning a wilderness trip. "Learning to Talk Bear" by Roland Cheek is a good companion book to this one.

Track of the Grizzly
A very readable, enjoyable book. It was published in 1979 so I'm sure there's more and newer information on the bears, but this is a great starting place. It's author (and his brother) are famous for their early grizzly studies.

Track of the Grizzly
A shortened and less scientific version of the Craighead's classic study of the Yellowstone grizzlies. For any one who wants to know more about grizzlies, this book is a must!!!!

The REAL story of Grizzly Bears
A very well written and entertaining book about the Criaghead's multi yearstudy of the Grizzly Bears of the Yellowstone Eco system. The book whilewritten by a Biologist, is very entertaining and an easy (light)read....not a scientific paper.

If you want to understand what GrizzlyBears are REALLY like,and want to understand this interesting animal- thisis your book.

It's a great book to read if you visit the Yellowstonearea and are somewhat "Bear-a-phobic" as a result of thesensational bear attack books. I was reading this book in Yellowstone thissummer when I had my 1st bear incident in the 15 years I have been comingto the park. Armed with good information the "incident" became aninteresting encounter with another one of YNP's great animals.

This is abook worth buying and keeping in your library. ... Read more

Product Description
It is Grizzly Bear Cubs first summer. There is so much for him to learn and see. When he watches his mother catch a fish, Grizzly Bear Cub is determined to catch one too. But he soon finds out that fishing is not as easy as it looks! ... Read more

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An abandoned puppy finds a home with a farm family and earns the name Barney the Bear Killer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Exciting
My son loved reading this book. It was full of excitement and he loved the illustrations!

The Grizzly
Ilike this book because it is interesting.It is interesting because your excited to know what happens next.if you want a good book you should get this book.There is one reason why i don't like this book is that it takes a while to get into it. ... Read more

Product Description
Michio Hoshino spent almost a year photographing bears in the Alaskan wilderness. In this personal book, he weaves facts about grizzly bears into a compelling narrative which he illustrates with beautiful color photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Grizzly Bear Family Book
Informative and with excellent photographs for referenceHave used this book for carving reference and found itfulfills all the requirements for referene

Ahhhh-laska!
A thoroughly enjoyable book, with a magnificent glimpse into the Alaskan wilderness.Stunning pictures, with some fun facts sprinkled throughout can easily hold you and your child's attention as you follow the bears through their year.(Did you know that at the height of berry season, one bear can eat 200,000 berries each day?!) But this is no textbook.It's a little piece of magic that reminds us just how much we should appreciate any last bit of wildness that remains.Highly recommended. ... Read more