You drive north some 800 kms. to Chapleau. Then you get up on a Sunday morning in -30 degree C. weather and you drive snowmobiles as far as you can into the bush. Then you showshoe, carrying 20 kilo (44 lb.) backpacks stuffed with gear, into the deeper bush.
Finally, you reach your destination. You can spot it by the small round air hole that’s encrusted in ice.
Now you’re ready. You squeeze yourself into a tiny opening, if you can, and drop down into a pitch-black hole.
And to what end do you devote all this effort? Why, the chance to wake up a very sleepy black bear sow, who has given birth in her sleep, and may not exactly be thrilled to have you drop in.
Not on the top of my things-to-do-before-I-die list, but right up there for naturalist, teacher, and writer Dave Taylor of Mississauga.
In his latest book, called Black Bears A Natural History, Taylor describes the culmination of that field trip to Chapleau - a charging mother bear who blows out of her den and has to be tranquilized half-way up a tree, with a hypodermic mounted on the end of a not-very-long plunge stick. It’s all in a day’s volunteer work for Dr. Martyn Obbard and the Ministry of Natural Resources but it was a true revelation to Taylor who wanted some colour for his book and got a little more than he bargained for.
The next day Taylor squeezed himself into another den and hauled out his own cub for tagging.
Black Bears A Natural History is a culmination of a lifetime of observation and nearly two decades of writing and photography by the 58-year-old, whose book is all the more remarkable when you realize that he is responsible for virtually everything in it, including graphs and computer-generated illustrations. The former Peel elementary teacher ran the Britannia farm field centre in its too-short existence, and has always maintained an alternative identity as a writer.
In his retirement from the school board, Taylor has taken on a new challenge of supervising the education program at Riverwood.
Tonight, he’ll combine his roles when he goes Into the Bear’s Den at the MacEwan Field Station at Riverwood in a talk and book signing, which starts at 7:30 p.m.
The Mississauga resident has written about 70 books, all of them about the natural world, and many of them for children and on-line education publishers.
Richard Dionne, managing editor of publishers Fitzhenry and Whiteside said it’s no coincidence that the new book is doing really well in Canada. The handsome 188-page soft cover is, “a reflection of Dave’s deep understanding and respect for
these often misunderstood animals and a determination to share his wisdom
about them with the rest of the country. It’s not simply a portrait of the black bear, but a highly personal account by a dedicated naturalist.
“The result is an in-depth yet accessible account that feels like it was written by a friend. And all of Dave’s extraordinary color photographs are taken in the wild -- we see the animals as they are, in their own habitat, without the romance that can often cloud our impressions. It’s a book only someone with years of experience and passion could have produced.”
This guy has written a few blurbs for dust jackets, hasn’t he?
In an interview, Taylor’s love for bears, whom he’s been observing and photographing since his teens, shines through.
The trip with MNR staff was, “an amazing experience,” he says. “It was a revelation to see the dedication of the staff and the absolute care they take with the animals.”
Ironically, the introduction of the bear hunt in Ontario may have been the best thing that ever happened to the animals, he says, because it has allowed the ministry to really start doing population research and radio-transmitter tracking. Much has been learned, including the unfortunate fact that male bears are responsible for much of the predation of the cubs and sows.
Black Bears A Natural History ($34.95, available at most bookstores) is a breezy, entertaining read that is comprehensive yet conversational, a tricky combination to master.
Looking at a photo of him carrying the baby bear from the Chapleau-area den, shading its unprotected eyes from the damaging rays of the sun, Taylor notes that only one of the three cubs lived until the next season.
He pauses for a moment and then says, “I like to believe that this cub is the one who survived.”