Search results for ""Author Cat Urbigkit""

Shepherds have used dogs to protect livestock for thousands of years. But burros also have a natural instinct to protect, which makes them a perfect guardian animals as well. Meet Rena and Roo, a super dog-and-burro guardian team at work on a sheep ranch in Wyoming. The animals have a close connection with the sheep they protect, but it takes time and effort for Rena and Roo to grow to trust one another. In this companion book to her award-winning Brave Dogs, Gentle Dogs, Cat Urbigkit uses simple, informative text and eye-catching photographs to show how Rena and Roo develop into guardian animals.

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The Yellowstone grizzly population has grown from an estimated 136 bears when first granted federal protection as a threatened species to as many as 1,000 grizzlies in a tri-state region today. No longer limited to remote wilderness areas, grizzlies now roam throughout the region—in state parks, school playgrounds, residential subdivisions, on farms and ranches, and in towns and cities throughout the region. Return of the Grizzly tells the story of the successful effort to recover this large carnivore, the policy changes and disputes between bear managers and bear advocates, and for the first time, provides insight to what recovery means for the people who now live with grizzlies across a broad landscape. From cowboys on horseback chased by a charging grizzly, and grizzlies claiming game animals downed by human hunters, to the numerous self-defense killing of grizzlies that occur each year, the manuscript examines increases in conflicts and human fatalities caused by grizzlies in this ecosystem inhabited by humans who live there year-round. Human–bear interactions, grizzly attacks and deaths, avoiding attacks, effects on agriculture, wildlife protesters, the consequences of bear habituation, and more are all covered.

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Sam Ives's family set up camp in a Utah campground, cooked dinner, cleaned up and packed their gear away, and climbed into their multi-chambered tent to sleep. It was a great end to Father's Day. Eleven-year-old Sam crawled into the smaller compartment of the two-room tent. Without his parents knowing it, Sam ate a granola bar and placed the empty wrapper in a pocket of the tent. Sometime during the night, a black bear entered the campsite, ripped open the side of the tent where Sam slept, grabbed the boy, and killed him. His parents heard a noise and got up to have a look around, but were unable to find Sam. Terrified, they immediately called for help and a search was quickly conducted, where Sam's body was found about 400 yards from the campsite.Unfortunately, Sam's story is not uncommon—every year there are numerous reports of predator attacks on humans, many of them resulting in fatalities. When Man Becomes Prey examines the details of fatal predator attacks on humans, providing an opportunity to learn about the factors and behaviors that led to attacks. The predators profiled in the book include black bears, grizzly bears, mountain lions, coyotes, and gray wolves—the first time all five species have been included in one volume­­. Compelling narratives of conflicts involving these top predators are accompanied by how-to information for avoiding such clashes.

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Learn about the brave dogs who help guard livestock around the world! Wolf populations in the Rocky Mountains have reached recovery goals due in large part to an environmentally friendly method of predator control now in use on western ranches: livestock protection dogs (also called livestock guardian dogs). Although these dogs have been used around the world for thousands of years in primitive systems of livestock production, it’s only in the past four decades that they have been put to work in America in a systematic manner. Guardian dogs were imported to the United States, and their use has allowed the expansion of predator populations into areas where the animals were previously subject to lethal control. The use of guardian dogs is typical wherever livestock may encounter predators—from fox and coyotes, to wolves and grizzly bears. In Livestock Guardian Dogs, Cat Urbigkit tracks her journeys from a Wyoming sheep ranch to learn about working livestock protection dogs around the globe. Using historic accounts, published research, personal interviews on four continents, and her own experience on western rangelands, she provides the reader an intimate look into the everyday lives of working livestock protection dogs. Previously published as Brave and Loyal and now available for the first time in paperback, Livestock Guardian Dogs includes details on raising successful guardians, their behaviours, a discussion of breeds and historic use, an assessment of numbers for various predator challenges, the adoption and spread of programs to place guardians on American farms and ranches, problems and benefits associated with guardian dogs, predator ploys, and matching the dog to the predator challenge. Urbigkit’s work provides the best information on working livestock guardian dogs around the globe, accompanied by more than one hundred beautiful colour photos.

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Mongolia is a vast country located between Siberia and China, and little-known to outsiders. As Mongolia had long been under Soviet rule, it was inaccessible to Westerners. That was until 1990, when Stephen J. Bodio began planning his trip.As a boy, Bodio was always fascinated with nature. When he saw an image in National Geographic of a Kazakh nomad, dressed in a long coat and wearing a fur hat, holding a huge eagle on his fist, his life was changed from then on. When Mongolia became independent in 1990, Bodio knew that his dream to see the eagle hunters from the picture in National Geographic< so many years ago was soon to become a reality.In Eagle Dreams, readers follow Bodio on his long-awaited trip to Mongolia, where he spent months with the people and birds of his dreams. He is finally able to visit the birth place of falconry and observe the traditions that have survived intact through the ages. Not only does he get to witness things most people will never be able to, but he’s also able to give life to his dreams and the people, landscapes, and animals of Mongolia that have become part of his soul.

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