National Geographic Program

[Lugnut]

Tomorrow night (Saturday March 8th} National Geographic will have a show about a guy that fostered some black bears in New Hampshire. The part that interest me is the promo about being able to tell what a bear will do by it's behavior and actions. I've seen other programs about bear behavior but this one looks to be more in depth. I figure it may come in handy some day. I've seen a few on the trail but never noticed anything unusual but maybe I didn't know what to look for.

[ChinMusic]

Haven't some of these "bear whisperer" types come to awful ends?

[Hikerhead]

You'll see his signs on the AT around Smart Mtn.

[Blue Jay]

Haven't some of these "bear whisperer" types come to awful ends?

Yes, all humans die.

[Peaks]

You'll see his signs on the AT around Smart Mtn.

Ben spoke at the Gathering a couple of years ago when it was in Hanover.

[woodsy]

Some of Ben's work has been aired in the past and has incredible footage of interaction with Bears of both sexes. One in particular I remember is an aggressive male during mating season which charges him and scares the crap out of him and you watching it unfold. He manages to keep the camera rolling.

Heres a little history of Ben and his operation......This is a must watch program for nature enthusiasts..showing tonight 9 pm EST

Benjamin Kilham - Researcher, Naturalist, Author The subject of features in The New York Times and People Magazine as well as a guest on the "Today Show" and the "Late Show with David Letterman," Ben Kilham enchanted the world with his stories of mothering twenty-six black bear cubs over the last ten years. National Geographic called him Mother Bear Man.
In the Spring of 1993 Kilham, a woodsman from New Hampshire, took in a pair of orphaned wild black bears. It wasn't until these first cubs denned up for the winter that he had time to reflect upon his observations. After the 395 hours he had just spent walking with the cubs in their natural world, the 510 hours he spent caring for them, and the 96 hours he spent taking field notes, he knew more than the dozen scientific articles that existed on black bears. He had, in fact, discovered unknown facets of bear behavior that could radically revise our understanding of animal behaviour.
Without an existing model of bear behavior, Kilham set out to create one based on his observations. Watching the daily development of the cubs and slowly adding new sets of cubs to his family, enabled Kilham to check and recheck his analysis. In the end, Kilham reveals that black bears are highly social individuals, who share resources, form hierarchies, and who have structured kinship relationships. They have the ability to share insight, to plan, deceive, and to communicate intentionally with an innate physical and verbal language. Kilham's findings have provided invaluable insight into managing human-bear conflicts through a better understanding of bear behaviour. His workshops provide wildlife managers with the needed tools to disarm threatening bear behaviour without destroying the bear.
Ben's latest book (http://www.bearsmart.com/moreStuff/Books.html#BK) AMONG THE BEARS: Raising Orphan Cubs in the Wild is at once a groundbreaking work of science and a truly personal story of the bond between animals and humans. Heralded as "Compelling…a vivid picture of ursine social life and intelligence" by the New York Times Book Review, AMONG THE BEARS chronicles the behavior of two sets of cubs as well as Kilham's touching personal connection with them. Squirty, Little Boy, Little Girl, and Curls as he has affectionately named them are in many ways his family and become enthralling and memorable characters. AMONG THE BEARS is an enlightening first look at the behavior of the species.
For more information, see Kilham's website (http://web.mac.com/benjaminkilham/iWeb/Site/HOME%20PAGE.html).

[wilconow]

Thanks for posting this! Someone lent me the book a while ago, and while I never got into it, the show sounds interesting.

[woodsy]

So it was an interesting 1 hour on Black Bear behavior
Ben the Bear man got bit at least twice during the show, once on the upper arm and once on the knee.
He says the Bear was letting him know who the boss is when he is in their territory.

Anyone else watch it?
A great study into the intelligence and social life of Black Bears I think.