Out on a Limb: What Black Bears Have Taught Me about Intelligence and Intuition
For nearly 20 years, naturalist Kilham has fostered orphaned black bear cubs in northern New Hampshire. In his previous book, Among the Bears, Raising Orphan Cubs in the Wild (2002), he described his early efforts to teach cubs to forage, hunt, and avoid natural and human-made dangers. In this book, he recounts years of studying bears he released into the woods, especially Squirty, who has successfully raised her own cubs, who have in turn raised another generation of wild bears. Because Squirty still trusts Kilham as family, he has been able to observe bear social interactions closely. Among his discoveries are that bears socialize far more than commonly believed and occasionally exhibit altruistic behavior. Although some scientists criticize Kilham’s work, he defends his methods and likens bear society to that of primitive humans, suggesting that we can learn much about our origins from the bears. Advice for hikers encountering bears rounds out this popular-science memoir. --Rick Roche