When it comes to present day megafauna, there are few that can rival bears in being charismatic. From representations of spiritual power, to symbols of a wide range of qualities from strength to love, to popular culture icons, bears loom large in the human imagination. Unfortunately they don’t loom quite as large in their own habitats any longer. Of the eight species of bear in existence today, six are classified by the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable (that’s the classification status between Near Threatened and Endangered).
As might be expected, many of the reasons for this have to do with human activities that include sins of both omission and commission. And as I’ve long maintained that correction of the lack of knowledge is an excellent way to remedy such things as the former of these two faults (the latter requires actions undertaken by law enforcement and similar civil entities), learning more about our portly, hirsute, ursine neighbors is an excellent first step in helping to protect them.
A new book that offers its readers an enjoyable opportunity to gain a better understanding of four of the world’s bear species is Wayne Lynch’s Bears of the North; A Year Inside Their Worlds from Johns Hopkins University Press. Beginning with a very easy-to-understand overview of the basics of bear biology, the book then embarks on a tour guided, well-illustrated tour through a year in the lives of Polar, American Black, Asiatic Black, and Brown Bears. Along the way, the reader will come to discover a wealth of information about many aspects of bears and their lives that are as interesting in themselves as they will likely be corrective to mistaken ideas too many of us hold about them. And as the subjects of the book are, as mentioned, widely threatened, a concluding chapter covers the most common threats bears face today – including one that particularly galls me: the captive raising and poaching of them for use of bits of them in traditional medicines.
If you are, or someone you know is, interested in bears, this colorful, extensively photo illustrated, lively and accessible book is one you should add to you shopping or library check-out list.
