Description
Book SynopsisAn unprecedented visual and scientific journey into the secret world of bears. In Bears of the North, renowned wildlife photographer, naturalist, and bestselling author Wayne Lynch offers us a work of scintillating science and stunning beauty. Following polar bears, brown bears, and American and Asiatic black bears through the seasons, this journey is an insider's view of hibernation's mysteries and the birth of cubs in winter; the mating rituals and voracious appetites of spring; hunting, fishing, and encounters with neighbors during summer; and the feeding frenzy and exuberant play of autumn. Dispelling the stereotypes and untruthsbut none of the magicsurrounding these magnificent animals, Lynch comments on the latest scientific discoveries related to the biology, behavior, and ecology of bears. He describes how satellite telemetry has revealed the purpose behind the meanderings of bears and the great distances they sometimes cover on land and in water. He also shows how DNA analys
Trade ReviewExtremely well researched....No matter how many years you have researched or managed bears, there will be something in this book that you did not know.
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International Bear NewsTable of ContentsPreface
1. Introduction
The Carnivores
The Bear Family: Family Ursidae
The Polar Bear
The Brown Bear
The Asiatic Black Bear
The American Black Bear
2. January–February–March
A Bear in Hibernation, Down but Not Out
Den Mothers
Journey to the Ice
On the Sea Ice
3. April–May
Den Emergence
Getting Under Way
Origin of the Sea Bear
Hunters on the Ice
More like Cows than Carnivores
Droppings and Digestibles
Caching and Carrion
4. June
The Mating Game
The Biology of Murder
Coming of Age in Bearland
The Family Breaks Up
Orphans and Castaways
Sunbathing Seals
The Hunter and the Hunted
Ants and Other Edibles
5. July–August
Bears on the Beach
Salmon and Bears
Hierarchy Highs and Lows
The Language of Bears
Bear Rub Trees
A Day in the Life
The Challenge of Living with a Cousin
6. September
The Fall Feeding Frenzy
Packing on the Pounds
The Games That Bears Play
A Bear's Domain
The Brainy Bruin
7. October–November–December
Bedding Down for Winter
Danger in the Den
Snow Dens
The Challenge of Life on the Ice
8. The Unbearable Future
Habitat Loss
Chemicals That Poison
Poaching for Placebos and Profit
The Big Melt
Appendix A. The Tropical Bears
The Andean Bear of the Cloud Forests
The Sun Bear
Giant Panda, the Bamboo Bear of China
The Sloth Bear: The Termite Terminator
Appendix B. Scientific Names of Plants and Animals
References
Acknowledgments
Photo Credits
Index
