What causes bear attacks? When should you play dead and when should you fight an attacking bear? What do we know about black and grizzly bears and how can this knowledge be used to avoid bear attacks? And, more generally, what is the bear’s future? Bear Attacks is a thorough and unflinching landmark study of the attacks made on men and women by the great grizzly and the occasionally deadly black bear. This is a book for everyone who hikes, camps, or visits bear country–and for anyone who wants to know more about these sometimes fearsome but always fascinating wild creatures.
Do bear attacks touch people in the far-back recesses of their psyches? Reach latent ancestral memories of cave days when humans were potential prey? Indeed, there are those who say their nightmares involved bears before they ever saw one, either in the flesh or in the movies. Unfortunately, these nightmares all too often come true. People perform almost superhuman feats in their fight to survive bear attacks. Jim Marriott, for instance, was attacked and mauled by a grizzly while carving out a moose head. When playing dead didn’t work, he slammed his skinning knife into the attacker’s neck. The surprised bear backed off only to charge again, cut his tongue trying to bite at the knife, and got the knife sunk into the same place. By the third charge, Marriott was on his feet despite chewed buttocks and damaged legs. This time the bear left with the knife still sticking in his neck. “In bear attacks, the human survival instinct is extraordinary,” says a doctor who sees the terrible punishment victims of bear attacks live through. “And equally amazing are the heroics and seemingly superhuman efforts of those around the victims.” BEAR ATTACKS OF THE CENTURY gathers together these stories of courage, chronicling the most horrific encounters between bears and people. With expert advice on avoiding attacks and information that may help both species leave an encounter unscathed, this book is required reading for hikers, hunters, campers, or anyone visiting bear country, and those who want to learn more about these sometimes deadly but always fascinating animals.
Humans and grizzly bears have been coming into contact in Yellowstone National Park ever since it was founded in 1872. Most of these encounters have ended peacefully, but many have not. In order to most accurately tell the stories of those involved in the more deadly incidents, Kathleen Snow went directly to the source: the National Park Service archives. With help from personnel at park headquarters, Snow has collected more than 100 years’ worth of hair-raising stories that read like crime scene investigations and provide hard-learned lessons in outdoor safety. A must-read for fans of Death in Yellowstone and anyone fascinated by human-animal interactions.
For more than half a century, grizzly bears roamed free in the national parks without causing a human fatality. Then in 1967, on a single August night, two campers were fatally mauled by enraged bears -- thus signaling the beginning of the end for America's greatest remaining land carnivore. Night of the Grizzlies, Olsen's brilliant account of another sad chapter in America's vanishing frontier, traces the causes of that tragic night: the rangers' careless disregard of established safety precautions and persistent warnings by seasoned campers that some of the bears were acting "funny"; the comforting belief that the great bears were not really dangerous -- would attack only when provoked. The popular sport that summer was to lure the bears with spotlights and leftover scraps -- in hopes of providing the tourists with a show, a close look at the great "teddy bears." Everyone came, some of the younger campers even making bold enough to sleep right in the path of the grizzlies' known route of arrival. This modern "bearbaiting" could have but one tragic result…
Author and wildlife expert Mike Lapinski compiled this collection of true bear-encounter stories from throughout the western United States, British Columbia, and Alaska. Some have happy endings, some fatal; all are thrilling. But there's more to this book than a heart-pounding read. Think of these as campfire stories with a higher purpose. Mike strongly advocates the use of bear pepper spray for backpackers, rangers, anglers, hunters, photographers, anybody who hikes through bear country. Repelling and reconditioning bears saves lives, both human and bruin, he asserts. In TRUE STORIES OF BEAR ATTACKS. Mike also shares insights into bear behavior, why they attack, how to protect yourself in bear country, and thoughts on the future of the great bear in the Lower 48. Organizations such as the U.S.D.A. Forest Service and the Center for Wildlife Information, National Bear Conservation, in Missoula, Montana, have expressed support for Mike's work.
After enduring a vicious bear attack in the Russian Far East's Kamchatka Peninsula, a French anthropologist undergoes a physical and spiritual transformation that forces her to confront the tenuous distinction between animal and human. In the Eye of the Wild begins with an account of the French anthropologist Nastassja Martin’s near fatal run-in with a Kamchatka bear in the mountains of Siberia. Martin’s professional interest is animism; she addresses philosophical questions about the relation of humankind to nature, and in her work she seeks to partake as fully as she can in the lives of the indigenous peoples she studies. Her violent encounter with the bear, however, brings her face-to-face with something entirely beyond her ken—the untamed, the nonhuman, the animal, the wild. In the course of that encounter something in the balance of her world shifts. A change takes place that she must somehow reckon with. Left severely mutilated, dazed with pain, Martin undergoes multiple operations in a provincial Russian hospital, while also being grilled by the secret police. Back in France, she finds herself back on the operating table, a source of new trauma. She realizes that the only thing for her to do is to return to Kamchatka. She must discover what it means to have become, as the Even people call it, medka, a person who is half human, half bear. In the Eye of the Wild is a fascinating, mind-altering book about terror, pain, endurance, and self-transformation, comparable in its intensity of perception and originality of style to J. A. Baker’s classic The Peregrine. Here Nastassja Martin takes us to the farthest limits of human being.
A great collection of bear attack true stories for hikers, hunters, and all who venture into the outdoors. Bears are one of nature’s apex predators, gentle and fuzzy to watch from a distance, fierce and unpredictable when aroused—and then it’s too late for humans to escape a dangerous, fearsome, or fatal encounter. In this collection, we gather the most thrilling and frightening bear-attack stories of the past few decades. Grizzlies, brown bears, black bears—and their unfortunate encounters with humans. This is what happens—When Bears Attack. Joseph B. Healy takes a closer look at some of the notable bear attacks of recent history in order to determine their causes, evaluate what happened, and appreciate the raw power—and danger—of mother nature. He tells tales of hikers enjoying weekend camping trips as well as workers going about their daily routines. Follow along as the victims’ lives are disrupted by bears, and see how survivors were forced to think and act in the moment to stay alive. As modern life continues to encroach on the wilderness, encounters between bears and humans will only increase. Learn about the outcome of these feral clashes in When Bears Attack.
What causes bear attacks? Can attacks be prevented? If you are attacked, are there defensive measures that can save your life?For answers to these and many other questions, Mike Cramond conducted full investigations of many of the over 250 documented attacks in his files. These include attacks by grizzlies, black bears, and polar bears. On this project, he traveled 40,000 miles to visit attack sites and interview surviving victims, witnesses, biologists, and official investigators.The resulting stories dramatically recreate these attacks and then examine their causes. From the evidence, Cramond often offers fascinating challenges to popular beliefs on bear behavior. Many of the stories also touch on the attack aftermaths: hospital ordeals, physical disabilities, and heartbreaking battles for compensation.Killer Bears is essential reading for anyone who would step into bear country, and serves as a principal reference for all who would study and report on bear-man issues in North America. Meticulously researched and chock-full of expert knowledge, Killer Bears stands as a vital and important part of our literature on nature and survival. (6 x 9, 320 pages, chart)
A gripping graphic novel adaptation of Lauren Tarshis's bestselling I Survived the Attack of The Grizzlies, 1967, with text adapted by Georgia Ball. No grizzly has ever killed a human in Glacier National Park before... until tonight. Eleven-year-old Melody Vega and her family come to Glacier every year. Mel loves it here — the beautiful landscapes and wildlife make it easy to forget her real-world troubles. But this year is different. With Mom gone, every moment in the park is a reminder of the past. Then Mel comes face-to-face with a mighty grizzly. She knows basic bear safety: Don't turn your back. Don't make any sudden movements. And most importantly: Don't run. That last one is the hardest for Mel; she's been running from her problems all her life. If she wants to survive tonight, she'll have to find the courage to face her fear. Based on the real-life grizzly attacks of 1967, this bold graphic novel tells the story of one of the most tragic seasons in the history of America's national parks — a summer of terror that forever changed ideas about how grizzlies and humans can exist together in the wild. Lauren Tarshis's New York Times bestselling I Survived series comes to vivid life in graphic novel editions. Perfect for readers who prefer the graphic novel format, or for existing fans of the I Survived chapter book series, these graphic novels combine historical facts with high-action storytelling that's sure to keep any reader turning the pages. Includes a nonfiction section at the back with facts and photos about the real-life event.
