“The Bear Doesn’t Know: Life and Wonder in Bear Country” by Paul Schullery, University of Nebraska Press, 248 pages, $21.95 (paperback).
“Lions and tigers and bears, Oh, my!” became a memorable line from the reviewer’s earliest childhood. With a mother named Dorothy who came from Kansas, that reminder from the “Wizard of Oz” symbolized the frightening creatures which could populate my youthful dreams.
Fortunately, during the 1940s and 50s, “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic” became the introductory song of a favorite Saturday morning radio show, “Big Jon and Sparkie,” providing a more warm and fuzzy image of the ursine species.
Much later, the Will Geer character “Bear Claw” in the movie “Jeremiah Johnson” and his lifelong pursuit of “Griz” became my model for human-bear interaction.
Paul Schullery is a septuagenarian naturalist, wildlife historian and author of over 40 books on outdoor subjects such as fly fishing and his experiences as a park ranger at Yellowstone.
He presently resides in Bozeman, Montana, and is professor at both Montana State and Wyoming universities. His latest book, ”The Bear Doesn’t Know,” presents a more realistic appraisal, allowing him to indulge in his favorite lifetime passion, understanding bears.
His short and charming book serves as both a memoir and a tribute to the fearsome and unpredictable beast, which is inexplicably perceived as amiable by some Americans. The author has devoted a considerable portion of his life trying to observe wild bears in their natural habitat. Fortunately, his book does not lapse into a simple polemic about preserving our resources and protecting our country’s largest predator.
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