Laughing_Bear's photostream

The nickname Laughing Bear was given to me after I got spooked by a grizzly and tried to hide from it by submerging in a river -- much to the bear's apparent amusement.

My personal motto is:
"Life is a strange and wonderful adventure, in disguise. "

The art of living is learning to strip away the disguise, recognize the adventure, and enjoy it to the max.

One of my favorite kinds of adventure is getting to know wild animals well enough to develop personal rapport with them.

Along the way of learning how to do that, I became a wildlife biologist, author and cinematographer.

Actually, I began my career as a marine ecologist, studying "sea shells" and the animals that live inside them. However, I soon became fascinated with marine mammals and began studying how to communicate with them and other species.

This led me into research with moose, elk, mountain goats, deer and especially bears.

I am founding Director of the Bear Viewing Association. I guide wildlife viewers/ photographers each summer on the Alaska sea coast. I have written several books and produced videos to help people learn to live in harmony with bears and other potentially-dangerous animals. I've personally had over 10,000 close encounters with "wild" bears and never been hurt.

Hundreds of pages of additional information about bears (viewing, viewing sites, ecology, behavior, evolution, etc.) are available on BVA's website
[http://www.bear-viewing-in-alaska.info]


My books are:

Beauty Within the Beast (my adventures raising orphaned cubs until they could fend for themselves in the Alaska wilds).

Bear Viewing in Alaska (where when and how to safely view bears at photographic distances)

Alaska Magnum Bear Safety Manual (the most advanced book of its kind)

When Bears Whisper, Do You Listen? (about personal interactions with bears)

Ghost Grizzlies and Other Rare Bruins: The Art & Adventure of Knowing Wild Bears

The Language of Bears (how to communicate with them)

The first 4 books in are print; the latter 3 are pending. In addition I will soon start work on:

Grizzlies Among Glaciers - about my experiences researching grizzlies at Hallo Bay and other parts of Alaska.

Becoming Bear: about my experiences getting to know bears from the perspectives of Western culture, Zen and Native American culture.

My major indoor hobbies are classical music, reading and sculpting. Major outdoor hobbies include hiking, camping, canoeing, and of course photography.

I am President of WildWatch LLC, an educational services firm that produces environmental educational materials, provides tutoring to students, and advices government agencies, businesses and NGOs on environmental issues.