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The
Great
B ea R
R e SC ue
Sandra Markle
Millbrook Press Minneapolis
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For Alicia Bashawaty and the children of Kennedy Elementary School in Livonia, Michigan
Acknowledgments: The author would like to thank the following people for sharing their enthusiasm and
expertise: Derek Craighead, founder, president, and executive director of Craighead Beringia South, Kelly,
Wyoming; Dr. Janet Hawkes, consultant to Great Green Partners and Food for Mazaalai; Dr. Michael Proctor,
Birchdale Ecological, & International Association for Bear Research and Management, Kaslo, BC, Canada; Dr.
Harry Reynolds, Gobi Bear Project, founder; Gobi Bear Fund, Fairbanks, Alaska; and Odbayar Tumendemberel,
University of South-Eastern Norway, Telemark, Norway.
A special thank-you to Skip Jeffery for his loving support during the creative process.
Text copyright 2021 by Sandra Markle
All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior
written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.
Millbrook Press
An imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
241 First Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA
For reading levels and more information, look up this title at www.lernerbooks.com.
Main body text set in Metro Office. Typeface provided by Linotype AG.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Markle, Sandra, author.
Title: The great bear rescue : saving the Gobi bears / Sandra Markle.
Description: Minneapolis : Millbrook Press, [2021] | Series: Sandra Markle's science discoveries | Includes bibliographical
references and index. | Audience: Ages 814 | Audience: Grades 46 | Summary: "This fascinating look at Gobi bearsthe
rarest bears on the planetincludes the story of why so few of these bears remain and what scientists are doing to help
this critically endangered species" Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019051392 (print) | LCCN 2019051393 (ebook) | ISBN 9781541581258 (library binding) |
ISBN 9781728401553 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Brown bearConservationGobi Desert (Mongolia and China)Juvenile literature.
Classification: LCC QL737.C27 M3216 2021 (print) | LCC QL737.C27 (ebook) | DDC 333.95/9784095173dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019051392
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019051393
Manufactured in the United States of America
1-47324-47951-2/21/2020
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Gobi bears have an
extra-thick fur coat
to protect them
against the desert
heat and cold.
IS IT SAFE?
Its late October in Mongolias Gobi Desert, and the chill wind
is a reminder that winter is coming. The female Gobi bears instincts
tell her its nearly time to hibernate. So she stops by each wild rhubarb plant she
finds to dig up the starchy roots to eat. This is exactly the food she needs to finish
fattening up before she sleeps away the winter. But the wind is carrying another
scent that makes her stop. She lifts her big head, sniffs, and then moves on,
following her nose to track the new scentwater.
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In her world, the vast Gobi Desert,
drinking her fill of water means either
staying close to an oasis for water or
traveling from one oasis to another.
Because food is in short supply in any one
spot, the Gobi bear cant just stay near one
oasis. She must keep moving to find enough
food. But now with the lure of water so
close, she picks up her pace until the wind
shifts again and delivers a new scent.
She smells people . The bear hesitates
but only for a few seconds. Her thirst is an
ache, and the water scent is stronger than
the human scent. She plods on, cautiously
approaching the oasis.
When she rounds a rock outcropping,
she sees a group of people straight ahead.
Theyre clustered around something else
she fearsfire. She stops. One of the people
makes a loud noise, and the whole group
rears up. Theyre facing her. The Gobi bear
huffs a throaty growl, but the water scent
is strong and her thirst is great. So she
doesnt run.
Will the people attack her? Or will they
let her get to the water?
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GOBI BEARS IN TROUBLE