Bear Necessities

What is it like to rehabilitate sun bears in the rainforests of Malaysia? Why are sloth bears trained to dance? How is traditional Chinese medicine implicated in the deaths of black bears in North America? Bear Necessities answers all of these questions, and many more. Through the voices of activists, scientists, and educators, readers walk alongside those who pull sun bears from Vietnamese bile farms, track Andean bears in the rugged hills of Ecuador, work to protect Montana’s grizzlies in the courtroom, and gently heal the many wounded bears who live in sanctuaries around the world. Though almost every bear species is endangered or severely threatened, Bear Necessities offers hope through knowledge and understanding, which reside at the heart of change.

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— Introduction to Bear Necessities

Bears heighten my senses and humble me with the knowledge that, once stripped of the artifice of human civilization, I am just another edible animal.

Introduction to Bear Necessities

Selfish gains end with us, but gains for the greater good have a ripple effect that continues long after we are gone.

Bear Necessities

When we help nonhuman animals—when we help those who are least able to help themselves—we foster a community of sharing, a community where no one is left out in the cold, a community in which we can be proud to live.

Bear Necessities