"Since prehistory, humans and bears have lived side by side. Many cultures around the world viewed bears as a kind of wild counterpart of humans, cloaked in fur. For centuries, bears have been feared and revered, driven away and killed; at the same time, we've reduced them to fluffy toys and cute characters. Why have we misunderstood bears so deeply, and what can we do to repair our connection with them? Drawing on science, history, legend, and colorful anecdotes from his thirty years of tracking and observing bears across the globe, writer and filmmaker Rémy Marion invites us to follow in the footsteps of these fascinating animals and to see them in a more objective and compassionate light. His close encounters with bears of all shapes, sizes, and colors have brought him into contact with many other people who live and work among bears and the scientists who study them. He reveals how varied a bear's diet can be, how important its sense of smell really is, why a mother bear is so stubbornly patient with her cubs, the vital role of bears in our ecosystems, the impact of climate change on bears, and how understanding bear hibernation could lead to medical breakthroughs for humans. By revealing the true nature of bears, this book encourages us to rebuild a relationship with them based on respect and understanding."-- Provided by publisher.