| Description |
xiii, 338 pages : color illustrations, color maps ; 29 x 23 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Summary |
"The author's narrative and photographs follow the polar bear, the brown bear, the Asiatic black bear, and the American black bear through the four seasons of the year. The book is richly illustrated and informative about the biology, ethology, and ecology of bears"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Contents |
Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction -- The Carnivores -- The Bear Family: Family Ursidae -- Taxonomy, the Naming Business -- Bear Beginnings -- The Polar Bear -- The Brown Bear -- The Asiatic Black Bear -- The American Black Bear -- 2. January, February, March -- A Bear in Hibernation, Down but Not Out -- Den Mothers -- The Baby Bruin -- Bear Milk and Nursing -- Abandoning the Den -- Journey to the Ice -- On the Sea Ice -- The Frozen Ocean -- Leads and Polynyas -- 3. April, May -- Den Emergence -- Physiological Factors -- Environmental Factors -- Getting Under Way -- Origin of the Sea Bear -- Hunters on the Ice -- Other Meaty Meals -- Ice Cold Carcasses -- More Like Cows than Carnivores -- Droppings and Digestibles -- Early Spring Diet -- Caching and Carrion -- 4. June -- The Mating Game -- The Biology of Murder -- Coming of Age in Bearland -- The Family Breaks Up -- Orphans and Castaways -- Sunbathing Seals -- The Hunter and the Hunted -- Ants and Other Edibles -- 5. July, August -- Bears on the Beach -- Staying Cool -- The Summer Menu -- Salmon and Bears -- The Life of the Salmon -- Scenes from a Salmon Stream -- The Salmon Forest -- Hierarchy Highs and Lows -- The Language of Bears -- Visual Signals -- Vocal Signals -- Odor Signals -- Bear Rub Trees -- A Day in the Life -- The Challenge of Living with a Cousin -- 6. September -- The Fall Feeding Frenzy -- Acorns and Other Nuts -- Berries -- Mast Failures -- Digging for Dinner -- Packing on the Pounds -- Delayed Implantation -- The Games That Bears Play -- The Purpose of Play -- Adult Polar Bear Play -- A Bear's Domain -- The Brainy Bruin -- 7. October, November, December -- Bedding Down for Winter -- Finding a Den -- Bear Bunkers -- Danger in the Den -- Wolves and Bears -- Snow Dens -- Maternity Denning Areas -- Ice Denning -- The Challenge of Life on the Ice -- Vision in Polar Bears -- Combating the Cold -- 8. The Unbearable Future -- Habitat Loss -- Chemicals That Poison -- Poaching for Placebos and Profit -- The Big Melt -- APPENDIX A THE TROPICAL BEARS -- The Andean Bear of the Cloud Forests -- Heyday of the Short-Faced Bears -- The Andean Bear Today -- A Clouded Future -- The Sun Bear -- Giant Panda, the Bamboo Bear of China -- Binging on Bamboo -- Mating and Hibernation -- Future Fears -- The Sloth Bear: The Termite Terminator -- Adapting to an Unusual Diet -- APPENDIX B SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS. |
| Subject |
Bears -- Northern Hemisphere.
|
|
Bears. (OCoLC)fst00829302
|
|
Northern Hemisphere. (OCoLC)fst01245894
|
| Other Form: |
ebook version : 9781421439426 |
| ISBN |
9781421439419 (hardcover) |
|
1421439417 (hardcover) |
|
9781421439426 (electronic book) |
| Standard No. |
40030794166 |
|
