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Bear In The Back Seat I: Adventures Of A Wildlife Ranger In The Great Smoky Mountains National Park (2013)

by Carolyn Jourdan(Favorite Author)

3.84 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Zo'o Media

review 1: I enjoyed the stories and can imagine how much fun it would be to sit and hear the stories directly from the ranger! I'm sure that's how this book came to be. Ranger was telling everyone his great stories and likely most people say... you should write a book!The stories are good, but rather lightweight. Nothing too scary or troublesome. The part I disliked most about the book was how preachy it got in parts: "don't feed the bears!". I'm sure with 9m visitors a year, he's run into too many idiots who think bears are plushies instead of vicious wild animals.I must admit here that I'm completely terrified of bears. I've only run into one on a hike and he was very far away. We left the hike immediately. The other bears I've seen were at dumps in cottage country. Viewi... moreng them from the inside of a car is as far as I'd go. Even though the ranger made it clear that bears are wild animals and to be feared, his stories almost made it seem like the bears were tame. Kind of mixed messages...I'm very surprised that this national park has only had one fatality caused by bears. Clearly they have a very good program to keep bears wild and afraid of humans! Unfortunately Algonquin park which is 3 hours north of Toronto has had many more fatalities. I have memories of several of the attacks... and I paid attention because I've spent many days and nights hiking, canoeing, and camping in Algonquin. A quick google search tells me there were 5 attacks. Maybe it's harder to keep bears fed sufficiently in a northern environ.
review 2: “Bear in the Back Seat” by Kim DeLozier and Carolyn Jourdan is a wonderfully entertaining collection of various experiences Kim enjoyed during his 30+ year career as a Wildlife Ranger for the National Park Service at Smoky Mountain National Park. Tasked with managing both wildlife and tourists for the mutual safety of all parties, many of Kim’s stories concern bear/tourist interaction, which is sometimes hilarious and sometimes tragic. I myself am a retired Wildlife Biologist, so these tales really hit home for me. One thing I found particularly commendable in this book was the educational value DeLozier instilled in each tale. He frequently emphasized facts with which I fully concur. For example: “A fed bear is a dead bear” can be readily transferred to deer, elk, pronghorns and other wildlife, the point being that when well-meaning people start feeding wildlife, the animals they think they are helping often wind up dead. Once they lose their fear of humans, it is generally only a matter of time before they are injured, run over, or killed in any number of ways.“Bear in the Back Seat” is a pleasant read. It is also written by a man who was and is an expert in his field, and thus contains many nuggets of wisdom that should be required reading before anybody is allowed inside a National Park. I myself have seen people do things so incredibly stupid and dangerous that one wonders if they left their brains at home while they went on vacation. DeLozier is more tactful than I, and has that rare ability to both teach and entertain at the same time. “Bear in the Back Seat” is not “preachy”, but DeLozier does not pull any punches; he has an abiding respect for all wildlife that requires him to tell it like it is. Anyone who enjoys getting away from it all, camping in a National or State Park, backpacking in a Wilderness Area or just fishing along a remote stream, will appreciate and enjoy these tales. I highly recommend reading this book before your next outing. It could possibly save you a lot of grief. less

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