True Grizz: Glimpses of Fernie, Stahr, Easy, Dakota, and Other Real Bears in the Modern World

The core of this book is a series of stories about "teaching" grizzlies in northwestern Montana to avoid point. Chadwick, a wildlife biologist by training and now a journalist, rides shotgun with a pair of people and a team of Karelian bear dogs that engage in aversive conditioning, intended to make grizzlies associate human settlements with bad noises, rubber bullets, aggressive dogs, and other nuisances. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it doesn't. It's easier in years with abundant berry crops before the bears hibernate, and it's harder in droughts. Wrapped around this core narrative are various side stories about Chadwick and grizzlies. He had some imaginary encounters as a child, and some more serious encounters as an adult. These anecdotes are sometimes amusing, and at other times serve to explore his central theme. What is that theme? That grizzlies are smart animals and that, like a few other smart animals, they have personalities. Individual grizzlies are, well, individuals. They grow up in a variety of home environments, have different socialization experiences, and are born with different personalities. As a biologist, Chadwick knows very well that you aren't "supposed" to anthropomorphize animals, but to him it seems silly not to recognize these obvious differences among animals. Chadwick hits exactly the right notes on this theme. Since grizzlies are individuals, there's nothing wrong with giving them names - - and, as he notes, naming bears makes it easier to convince humans to behave better around them. At the same time, they're animals, and they're wild - - unlike (say) Timothy Treadwell, he doesn't pretend that they're humans, or that humans are bears. He maintains, much more sensibly, that grizzly behavior varies not only from one context to another, but from one animal to another. The same is true of humans, of course. Chadwick tells the stories of many people who interact with bears, mostly by accidentally leaving food out where grizzlies can find it. Dog food on the porch, a deer hanging in a shed with the door ajar, bird feeders, and other such things can attract grizzlies. Some people like seeing grizzlies, some are terrified, others don't much care. The anti-grizzly community tends to be the loudest, but as someone who has lived in Montana for decades Chadwick argues persuasively that most people have a generally benign view of the bears. But people, like grizzlies, are individuals. In fact, while this *looks like* a book about bears, it's really more about human interactions with bears. In contrast to the Timothy Treadwell mystical bears, or the Bear Attacks! ferocious bears, Chadwick tells a story of ordinary bears sharing a region with ordinary people. If you're interested in wildlife or human interactions with wildlife, this book is well worth reading. It's mostly a collection of pleasant anecdotes with a handful of meditations on bears and humans thrown in. A good read.

Chadwick presents the ursus horriblius (Grizzly Bear) in the closest account true to its real existance. This is not a book of sensational attacks and mystique, or of tree hugging enviro freaks. It is an easy read of the everyday experience of the bear managers of the Flathead in Montana. The only drawback is Chadwick's over zealous use of personification of bears. The names are used in management only as the equivelent of numbers, but Chadwick takes it rather far in depicting what he calls "bearalities". Bottom Line... A must read for anyone interested in the "real" real bears. tim

I truly enjoyed this book, not just because it shows bears in a better and more realistic light than many other books which focus only on bear attacks, but also because of how eloquently it is written. Doug Chadwick obviously has a passion for the wilderness and bears, and in this book he presents not only the benefits of wilderness but also unflinchingly discusses both problems and some solutions for allowing grizzlies enough space to live. Reading this book, I felt like I was sitting in the author's living room while he chatted with me about bear/human conflicts and many of the experiences he has had. You find yourself wiser and more informed without feeling like someone just lectured to you! This book is important as more and more people move into previously wild areas of the west!

Chadwick has penned a fascinating look at an animal whose reputation has long been based more on fear than fact. This marvelous natural history writer has found a way to bring readers close enough to touch a Grizzly bear, while maintaining a safe distance of respectful awe. His up-close-and personal stories of bears and bear managers are emminently readable and give one pause for thought about how misrepresented these incredible bears -- named Ursus arctos horribilis -- have become. Chadwick writes with trained scientific insight as well as the kindness of a human being who doesn't feel that man's place on this planet is that of "The Terminator" for all species who might stand in the way of real estate development. A definite "must-read" for all people living in or near Grizz habitat, and for all admirers of the magnificent megafauna known as the Grizzly bear.