| True Grizz. Glimpses of Fernie, Stahr, Easy, Dakota, and Other Real Bears in the Modern World. By Douglas H. Chadwick. 2003. Sierra Club Books. San Francisco, California. 176 p. US$24.50 hardcover. ISBN 1-57805-100-2. |
| "To be, or not to be: that is the question". In northwestern Montana the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is conducting an intensive program aimed at educating wild grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) about where it is and is not acceptable for them to be. Wildlife biologist and freelance writer Douglas Chadwick takes readers into the "grizzly training school," joining the bear education team, headed by biologist Tim Manley, for numerous bear tutoring sessions. The plight of the grizzly bear is well known to the public. The wholesale slaughter of these large carnivores, their populations decimated to near extinction in the lower 48 states, led to their placement as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1975. The fragmentation of their habitat and human encroachment into bear territory has brought about more human observations of, and interactions with the animal, leading to the seemingly inevitable tall grizz tale. Grizzly bear behavior appears to be much less understood by the public. Enter Douglas H. Chadwick, who brings to light the ways of the grizzly, and the fight to keep them in his new book True Grizz. The book contains a prologue, vital information on bears, an epilogue, and 9 chapters interspersed with a break for the poem Ode to Fresh Sign, an interlude Real Bear Clawing the Backbone of the World, and newspaper articles regarding bear and human interactions collectively entitled Ode to Babysitters. Chapter 1 acquaints the reader with Mr. Chadwick. He tells of growing up with "tall grizz tales" that led to a fear of grizzlies. Later, his M.S. study of mountain goats, which entailed living in grizzly territory and viewing the great bears, changed his perspective. Chapters 2 and 3 introduce us to some of the troublemaker bears and their educators. The school is headed by Manley and colleague Carrie Hunt. The latter runs the Wind River Bear Institute with the aid of her specially trained Karelian bear dogs. When called to a home with bear trouble, the new program of aversive conditioning is implemented, rather than the typical relocation or termination. Training is also given to the homeowners who, often unknowingly, have given bears the go-ahead to raid. Unfortunately, humans have frequently proven to be slower to catch on than bears. Next is Ode to Fresh Sign, a poem sent to Chadwick by Gary Snyder. Not being a poetry aficionado myself, I thought it to be not the brightest spot in an otherwise captivating book. The fourth chapter has the team trying an atypical tactic to persuade one of the bears, Fernie, and her cubs to quit their thieving ways, fatten up, and head to hibernation. Strictly against current thinking, Manley and team feed the bears roadkill, hoping the strategy will work. Chapters 5 and 6 detail various troubles given the team by several raiding bears. They are kept running after grizzlies that should have long ago been hibernating. Many long, cold days and nights of surveillance and chasing are endured before the last holdout, Stahr, finally heads for the high country. The interlude, Real Bear Clawing the Backbone of the World, is a short aside detailing Chadwick's bear watching in Glacier National Park and a close encounter of the grizzly kind. Chapter 7 finds spring in the air and grizzlies out scavenging. The tales aren't all pleasant, some involving human-caused grizzly deaths, orphaned cubs, and grizzly-caused human deaths. The outlaw Stahr's fate is sealed when she attempts to raid an occupied trailer. She and her cubs are then captured and exiled to Washington State University in Pullman, Washington where Dr. Charles Robbins will utilize them in studies of bear physiology and nutrition. Bear behavior is examined in Chapter 8. Chadwick demonstrates that grizzlies possess different personalities and traits. Each bear is different and cannot be depended on to react in a particular manner. Chapter 9 covers the meanderings of 3 more bears, Easy, Lacy, and Dakota, in their search for food, often in human occupied areas. This chapter relates tales of bear and human deaths along the way. Chadwick ends with the story of Dakota, a true tale of success. Ode to Babysitters recounts two truly remarkable stories of wild bears taking care of and playing with human children. Chadwick closes his book with an epilogue, updating readers on the status of the team and the bears we've come to know. His parting words tell of his commitment–". . . while we may ultimately discover much of what we need to know through scientific data and logic, using our heads, the heart is sometimes a truer field guide". The question of whether the grizzly bear is "to be or not to be" is definitely up to us. The adage "A fed bear is usually a dead bear" unfortunately, more often than not, holds true. Humans residing in grizzly territory need to become bear-aware and adopt bear-safety lifestyles. The grizzly bear has already adapted to the human invaders. Chadwick gives readers the insight into understanding the nature of the bear, allowing a better chance for safe interactions of bears and people, and thereby allowing grizzlies a better chance for survival. True Grizz is an enjoyable, entertaining, yet informative book that would be an asset to anyone's library, not just those in bear territory. –Linda Appel, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington. |