cover image Polar Bears: Living with the White Bear

Polar Bears: Living with the White Bear

Nikita Ovsyanikov. Voyageur Press (MN), $29.95 (144pp) ISBN 978-0-89658-323-8

Straddling the international date line, Wrangel Island is almost parallel to Point Barrow, Alaska. A key area for the Pacific walrus, it supports polar bears and Arctic foxes. Ovsyanikov, a scientific adviser to the BBC's Realms of the Russian Bear, spent portions of four years among the bears on Wrangel and nearby Herald Island. He had more than 500 encounters with them and did not carry a gun. He discovered that polar bears are more social than was previously believed; while adult males are solitary, family groups share food, and youngsters of similar ages play together. Ovsyanikov visited Herald Island, a major denning site, through two spring seasons to observe the behavior of females and cubs. This is first-rate adventure with exciting new facts about the white bear, enhanced by striking photographs. The author is senior research scientist for the Pacific Institute of Geography, Academy of Sciences of Russia. (Dec.)