Black Bear Living: A Woman’s Transformative Story

Bears are amazing⁢ sentient beings with ⁣unique personalities. Each individual has a life that’s⁢ valuable to them, their families, and even to us humans who bother ‍to learn who they are beyond being ⁢misjudged as dangerous beasts.¹ That’s why⁢ I was excited to read Black Bear: A‍ Story of Siblinghood⁣ and Survival ⁢by Trina Moyles.It’s a well-researched, personal memoir that moves past prejudice and ⁣fear to reveal the essence of these ⁣frequently enough-maligned keystone species-animals deeply affected by⁣ both⁤ the oil economy and direct harm from people.Here’s what Moyles had to say about her ⁢book.

Marc ⁤Bekoff:‍ Why did you write Black Bear?

Trina Moyles: My first encounter with ⁣a black bear was in 1990, when I was five. My father, a wildlife biologist, brought home an orphaned cub whose mother-and ‍possibly siblings-had been killed in a logging accident. Her mother‍ was crushed by equipment⁤ in her den. The cub spent one night with our family before going to a zoo. That experience,and an awareness of the pressures bears face,stayed with me.

Years later, I worked⁤ as a wildfire lookout in northern ⁢Alberta, scanning for smoke. In 2019,I‍ was stationed in a dense ‍wildlife corridor. During my first ⁢summer,I ⁢had close encounters with a‍ confident mother bear and her ‍two yearlings. She didn’t act afraid of people,like I’d been taught. I tried yelling,an airhorn,even ⁣rubber⁣ bullets. Nothing worked. They⁤ stayed.

I didn’t want the bear harmed, so I changed ⁤my approach. I started asking ⁣different questions, like why was she there? I realized the habitat around my tower ⁢offered a ‍safe space for⁣ mother ⁣bears-a buffer from male bears. Over time, I⁤ watched one of ⁢her cubs, Osa, ⁢grow into an⁣ adult and eventually become a mother herself. I ⁢learned to recognise them as individuals,‍ each with⁣ a distinct personality.

MB: Who do you hope to reach?

TM: this book is for anyone who loves stories about relationships-