In addition the pictures are poetic and heart warming.

if your study group explorer neuroscience books, this book help you.

This book has been described as a mystery, and rightly so. As they proceed down tangled jungle trails and even more tangled urban ones, the mystery deepens. Is there only one possible new species of bear haunting the rain forests and mountains of Southeast Asia or are there more? Locals in various areas speak of other new bear species, not matching descriptions of the golden moon bear, telling Montgomery and the others of "horse bears," "dog bears," "pig bears," and "man bears." Others speak of "honey bears" or huge compleletly black mountain bears, lacking the distinct markings of moon bears. Are these local variants of the two species of bears known to live in Southeast Asia, the sun bear and the moon bear? Perhaps they are new populations of more distant bear species, such as the brown bear and the sloth bear? Or do they represent altogether new species?
Not daunted by this but becoming even more enthusiastic they do their best to expand the frontiers of zoology and answer these questions.

The book focuses mainly on bears but other wildife is given some attention. Learn about the dholes, wild rare, red Asian dogs once venerated and protected by Laotian hill tribes. The Asian elephant, still revered by many in the region, particularly in Thailand; in Thai newspapers an elephant's age is always mentioned with his name, and honorific titles are bestowed, Pang for lady elephant, Pai for tuskers, and Sidor for tuskless males. The khting vor, an enigmatic animal first described in 1993, originally said to be a new type of wild ox, later a type of wild sheep or goat, an animal about which Montgomery makes some surprising revelations about.

However, more than the natural history of these animals Montgomery brings to readers their plight, that they are in danger of extinction. A rampant black market for animal parts, largely for medicinal purposes, threatens the very existence of some of Southeast Asia's more spectacular wildlife. Bears are captured and savagely and cruely harvested for their paws, made into soups which are more "powerful" if the animal is still alive when the paw is removed. Montgomery describes in heart-rending detail how animals are inhumanely abused and tortured in the region for the supposed exlirs and potions that they can produce, even when substitute are cheaply and easily avaiable through man-made sources.

Perhaps even worse than the market for animal parts is the simple extermination of animals for food. Montgomery describes nearly empty forests in Laos, where virtually every wild animal, from insect to civet to song bird to bat to bear and tiger are collected for the dinner table. Barrels full of smoked bats and empty caves, skewered songbirds and silent sunrises - and worse -are the result in a virtual wildlife holocaust.

As in other books by Sy Montgomery the book is a much a travelogue as a work of natural history. Particularly fascintating were her travels in remote, poorly known Laos, one of the most enigmatic nations in the world. A poor nation but rich in diversity - Laos posseses 240 ethnic groups and four ethnolinguistic families, ethnic minorities making up 70 percent of the population, and over 13,000 genetic varieties of rice are cultivated in the country, with only India, one hundred times the land area, having more - to me the book was worthwhile alone for educating me about this country. The book provides similiar interesting details on Cambodia and Thailand as well.

In closing I recommend this book highly. Does Montgomery get her bear(s)? Find out by reading the book. As often in science, the answers often lead to still more questions, and the book admitedly does not have a final, definitive answer on all the qestions raised. However, I think you will be greatly satisfied upon reading this great book.

If you didn't make it to Sy's book review, you will be delighted to know that the slides are included in the beautifully illustrated book.

Here is a writer who is meticulous in the accuracy of her writing but still thrills us with her enthusiasm for the subject. If you only read one book this year, it has to be SEARCH FOR THE GOLDEN MOON BEAR. It's a shame that I can't give it more than Five Stars. What the heck, I give it Six Stars. So shoot me Amazon.com!

Even if you are a long time bear hunter, you will soon realize upon reading this book that Dalton Carr knows more about bear hunting than you do. Having taken 179 bears, this fellow has learned a few things about how do do it, and how to do it safely. His stories make for some memorable reading too.

One word of caution. If you hunt bear with muzzleloader or bow, you might not want to read this book just before heading into the woods. I just made this mistake and for the first time, I may bring a "back-up piece", juuuust in case.......

Bonnie R. McKinney West Texas Black Bear Study