The Lost Grizzlies: A Search for Survivors in the Wilderness of Colorado

by Rick Bass

Overview

The Lost Grizzlies chronicles the ongoing search for proof that a small number of grizzly bears still lives in the isolated mountain wilds of southern Colorado. Rick Bass turns his considerable talents to an evocation of wilderness beauty and the history of human encroachment that may, or may not, have wiped out the last of these massive, solitary bears from their southern range.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780395857007
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/18/1997
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

RICK BASS’s fiction has received O. Henry Awards, numerous Pushcart Prizes, awards from the Texas Institute of Letters, fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation, and his memoir, Why I Came West, was a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award.

Editorial Reviews

"about striving to find something lost in ourselves, something that can be supplied only by solitude and wilderness and the presence of creatures more powerful and self-assured than we are" The Washington Post —

From the Publisher

Elk and black bear are abundant in Colorado's San Juan mountains. Does the grizzly still exist there? Since 1979, when a man was mauled by a grizzly, there have been a few unconfirmed sightings. With grizzly expert Doug Peacock and biologist Dennis Sizemore, Bass (The Nine-Mile Wolves) made three trips to the area to follow up the sightings and to search for signs (tracks and claw marks on trees, scat) that they would send to a laboratory for confirmation. The result is an engaging account of their adventures. For all three, just being in the wilderness was exhilarating; to Bass, the awareness that the bears might exist there was the heart of this search. On a solo climb at about 11,000 feet, Bass encountered a large bear he believes was a grizzly (again, no proof). Here he conveys in freewheeling style his appreciation of the wilderness and a strong sense of camaraderie. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Following David Petersen's Ghost Grizzlies (LJ 7/95), this is the second book to appear this year on the possible continued existence of grizzly bears in Colorado. Bass describes three expeditions to the San Juan Mountains to locate evidence of grizzlies. As in Ghost Grizzlies, the characters-and the language-are colorful. Petersen, a native Coloradan, more completely details the evidence for grizzlies and the political ramifications. Bass (In the Loyal Mountains, LJ 5/15/95), a short story and nature writer who lives in Montana, sets out only to chronicle the expeditions in which he participated. Like Peterson, he describes the spectacular mountain scenery and the difficulties of getting to potential grizzly habitat, but he is perhaps better at bringing the experience of the wild country alive. Both authors have written worthy books for the general reader. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/95.]-Bruce Neville, Univ. of Texas at El Paso Lib.

Library Journal

YAGrizzly bears had not been seen in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado for almost 15 years when a small group of men set out in 1990 to seek definitive evidence that the animals still existed there. They sought a tuft of fur, footprints, or, best of all, photographs to convince wildlife officials that these mountains still provided a habitat for grizzlies, a habitat that should be preserved. Over the next two years, two more expeditions were made until, finally, a confrontation... "I look for a tree to climb, my heart in my throat. That glimpse of the rolling humped back and the wild, wild eyes is all I get before the bear's flight takes it down to a wooded ravine and away..." Bass eloquently describes the pristine mountain meadows, the icy streams, the old-growth forests and the men who seek to preserve them. His account is about friendship, commitment, and love of the outdoors as much as it is about bears. YAs interested in the environment, in wildlife preservation, and in adventure in the natural world will find this book exciting and informative.Molly Connally, Kings Park Library, Fairfax County, VA

School Library Journal

Author and naturalist Rick Bass searches with a veteran grizzly expert and a biologist for proof that the grizzly bear still inhabits the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, in spite of being hunted nearly to extinction. In the process, he describes the dangers and clues on the trail of the grizzly bear as well as the mystery and beauty of the creature who has inspired such a wealth of lore, not to mention terror. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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