Ghost Grizzles: Does the Great Bear Still Haunt Colorado?
After a century of declared war, Colorado's last grizzly was officially eradicated in 1952. But in 1979, while out bowhunting elk in the San Juan mountains, a guide named Ed Wiseman fought a big old sow with nothing more than a broken arrow--and won. Was this truly the "last" grizzly? David Petersen, for one, would like to know. He tracks the ghost grizzlies of the southern Rockies with a gusto that borders on mania, interviewing wildlife officials, hikers, hunters, taxidermists, and anyone else with a connection to the great bear--hoping to find evidence that a few still range Colorado's rugged backcountry. He spearheads campaigns into the wilderness and studies suspicious signs left behind.Ghost Grizzlies, his memoir of this search, is many books at once: it's a lesson in natural (and not-so-natural) history; an elegy for America's lost wildness; a very personal rumination on what it means to chase an elusive spirit; and a terrific true-mystery story that will appeal to outdoors enthusiasts, wildlife fanciers, and anyone else who enjoys a good Western yarn.