Bears of the World (Worldlife Discovery Guides (Paperback)) - Softcover

Craighead, Lance

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0896580083 ISBN 13: 9780896580084

Publisher: Voyageur Press, 2003

Synopsis

Bears have inspired humans for thousands of years. We have celebrated their power and wildness from early cave paintings to the naming of constellations. This vividly illustrated portrait of bears describes the history, behavior, and habitats of all the world species: the grizzly, polar, American black, Asiatic black, sloth, and sun and spectacled bears, as well as the giant panda. It also takes a practical look at the complex issues of bear conservation, and highlights what individuals and organizations can do to help preserve a healthy future for these majestic creatures.

About this title

Review

Bears, those massive residents of forests and mountains around the world, are creatures of astonishing antiquity as described in the magnificent Bears of the World; when ancestral humans migrated out of Africa hundreds of thousands of years ago, bears were likely among the first creatures to greet them as they passed into Europe and Asia. Bears have weathered the encounter badly, writes biologist Lance Craighead, and especially in recent years with the rise of powerful firearms. Of the eight living species of bears worldwide, he observes, only two are not endangered or threatened.

Craighead, who has spent more than 40 years studying bears in the wild, is an authoritative, literate guide into their world, and this slender book is a wonderful education in all things ursine. He discusses the genetic ancestry and life history of bear species past and present and gives notes on current views of ursine evolution--by which, for example, polar bears are considered to have descended from some brown bear-like generalist and thence to have specialised "to exploit an unused carnivorous niche, the marine mammals of the polar ice pack." Craighead includes giant pandas, sun bears, sloth bears, and South American spectacled bears in his discussion, although the bulk of the book is devoted to bears of the world's boreal regions.

Craighead's text is matched with handsome colour photographs that illustrate aspects of the bears' habitat and sometimes playful, sometimes dangerous behavior. The book is a fine addition to any wildlife lover's library. --Gregory McNamee

Edition details

• Publisher: Voyageur Press
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0896580083
• ISBN 13: 9780896580084
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 132