Lynch - Bears of the North: A Year Inside Their Worlds

BEARS OF THE NORTH

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY

Wayne Lynch

OF THE NORTH

A Year Inside Their Worlds

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS BALTIMORE

2021 Johns Hopkins University Press

All rights reserved. Published 2021

Printed in China on acid-free paper

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Johns Hopkins University Press

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Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Lynch, Wayne, author.

Title: Bears of the north : a year inside their worlds / Wayne Lynch.

Description: Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020006004 | ISBN 9781421439419 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781421439426 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Bears.

Classification: LCC QL737.C27 L96 2021 | DDC 599.78dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020006004

A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.

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Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book materials, including recycled text paper that is composed of at least 30 percent post-consumer waste, whenever possible.

TO AUBREY The finest partner for a lifelong adventure

Play, in all species of bears, reinforces social bonds PAGE i: Four-month-old cubs will eat sedges, but milk is still their principal food until late summer PAGES iiiii: Off the eastern coast of Baffin Island, Nunavut, most nonpregnant polar bears continue to hunt during the many months of polar night

The four northern bears (clockwise from top left): polar bear, Asiatic black bear, American black bear, and brown bear

WHEN I WAS A BOY, bears were the demons in my nightmares. During the day, they lurked in the dark recesses of my imagination, and at night they skulked from the shadows to stalk and chase me. I stopped having those frightening dreams 60 years ago, but I have never stopped thinking about bears.

In September 1982, I was putting the finishing touches to a book on the ecology of the prairie grasslands, entitled Married to the Wind, and I wondered which book project I should tackle next. The prairie book had taken five years to research and write, and I wanted my next one to take less time to complete for the simple practical reason that I needed to make a living.

I got the idea to write about bears when I read Paul Schullerys fine book The Bears of Yellowstone. I thought, Why not write about the bears of the Northern Hemisphere? Since there are only four species of northern bears, surely there couldnt be more than a few hundred key references to read, and maybe I could finish the book in three years. I called my wife, Aubrey, to tell her how excited I was about my new plan. I recall her response: Dont you know that bears are dangerous and difficult, if not impossible, to photograph? A book on bears is a crazy idea. I knew she was right, as she so often is, but something in her logic made the challenge even more appealing. Aside from my navet about the amount of technical material I would need to review, I didnt count on the seductiveness of the animals themselves, or how forgiving they can be to a well-intentioned photographer. Once I was immersed in the project, I became obsessed with these remarkable animals.

The book, Bears: Monarchs of the Northern Wilderness, would take nine years to complete. I would review thousands of technical papers and attend dozens of scientific meetings.