Bärle's Story - One Polar Bear's Amazing Recovery from Life as a Circus Act

Else Poulsen

Summary

The award-winning zookeeper and author of Smiling Bears shares her account of rescuing and rehabilitating a bear held in a Caribbean circus. When a nineteen-year-old female polar bear named Barle is rescued from the inhumane conditions of a circus in the Caribbean and flown to safety in Detroit, zookeeper Else Poulsen—renowned throughout the world for her work rehabilitating abused bears—is on hand to meet her and help her on the road to recovery and self-discovery. Thus begins Barle’s gradual introduction into the world of polar bears. Slowly she forges relationships with the other bears in the zoo and eventually mates with a young male and successfully raises a cub. By living in a caring, enriched environment focused on her welfare, Barle is able to recover from the trauma she had suffered at the circus and develop skills that are important to thriving as a polar bear. As Poulsen documents, however, not all captive bears are so fortunate. Augmented with black-and-white photographs, Barle’s Story provides a rich and moving portrayal of a remarkable bear and of the author’s inspiring work to help her discover her true polar bear ways.Praise for Barle’s Story “This intelligent, stark, and gently humorous book makes one think that if all animals were listened to in the way that…Poulsen listens to bears, our children would inherit an infinitely kinder and safer world that the one they enjoy now.” —Dr. Jill Robinson MBE, founder and CEO, Animals Asia Foundation “At once deeply heart-wrenching, heart-warming, and heartful. Read this wonderful book and share it widely.” —Dr. Marc Bekoff, author of Why Dogs Hump and Bees Get Depressed

Available since: 06/07/2014.

Print length: 256 pages.

Other books that might interest you

Little Book of Canal Boats

Steve Lanham

You will be reminded of the life cycle of the salmon and when and how best to fish for them, and you will be encouraged to rethink what it is to be a salmon fisher in these more enlightened times, when stocks are less plentiful and good codes of practice are essential to ensure the long-term future of this fascinating fish.

Show book

Félix Vallotton

Nathalia Brodskaïa

Félix Vallotton (1865-1925) was active at the turn of the century. Although he is best known for his striking and elegantly composed Japanese-inspired woodblock prints, Vallotton was also a skilled painter, creating works that arrestingly combined technical perfection with emotional realism. This seminal text provides readers with a fascinating assessment of the career of this revolutionary artist.

Show book

Visual Guide to Art Quilting -...

Lindsay Conner

This visual reference will help anyone inspired to make art quilts gain the practical tools and inspiration necessary to translate your ideas to fabric. Start on the path to art quilting success! For anyone inspired to make art quilts, this visual reference includes step-by-step photos and illustrations to guide you on your creative journey. Dip your toes in the water with an introduction from some of the biggest names in quilting arts to design theory, supplies and tools, and working with fabric. Practice surface design, embellishment, and quilting by hand and machine as you learn a variety of finishing techniques to turn your unique ideas and imagery into art quilts.  • Expand your art quilter’s toolbox with helpful lessons, plus step-by-step photos and illustrations  • Study dyeing and printing on fabrics, embellishment, quilting, and working in a series   • Gain the practical tools and inspiration you need to finally translate your ideas to fabric

Show book

Stitch 'n Swap - 25 Handmade...

Jake Finch

Tips and projects for group sewing events, on or offline: “All of the ideas here are accessible, well-designed, and clearly explained and illustrated.” —Publishers Weekly   In this guide, the team at Generation Q Magazine shows you the best way to organize and run a virtual or in-person swap. To help get you started, they recruited some crafty friends to share 25 inspiring projects. All of the projects can be easily adapted to your taste, style, and skill level.   Whether you’re looking to have fun, learn new things, or exchange some fabulous gifts with friends, this easy-to-use book is your go-to resource for this popular community sewing activity.

Show book

Cooking On A Budget

J. Steele

Do you love sweets? Has the economy made it more difficult for you to fill that sweet tooth craving? You might have to stop buying your cookies from the bakery, but you can still enjoy those sweets by baking them yourself. Here are some tips to bake on a budget while also making your sweets taste and look professional.
* Buy in bulk. Get ingredients like cocoa powder, rolled oats, flaked coconut, nuts and spices in bulk. These ingredients are easy to store.
* Don't be afraid to use things that are about to spoil. Do you have some bananas which are past their edible state? Use them in some banana bread. Do you have some leftover cooked rice? Turn it into rice pudding. Even leftover mashed potatoes can be used in your baking by making potato fudge.
If you have bananas about to turn but don't want to make banana bread or muffins, then freeze the bananas peel and all so you can use them for baking in the future.
* Use your pantry. Just the basics from your pantry can be transformed into a great sweet treat. With some peanut butter and brown sugar you have the basis for a peanut butter cake. Add some oats, flour, baking soda, shortening, egg, vanilla and chocolate chips and you've got what you need. Or how about some peanut butter cookies that don't even need flour? Just add some egg and vanilla and you've got a simple peanut butter cookie. Do you have some canned pineapple and some raw carrots? Then you can make a Pineapple carrot cake.
* If you don't have buttermilk for a recipe, just make your own sour milk by pouring a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in a cup of regular milk. Let it sit for a few minutes. It's the perfect substitution for buttermilk. Check online for more substitutions when you're missing an ingredient.

Show book

Teaching the Trees - Lessons...

Joan Maloof

In this collection of natural-history essays, biologist Joan Maloof embarks on a series of lively, fact-filled expeditions into forests of the eastern United States. Through Maloof's engaging, conversational style, each essay offers a lesson in stewardship as it explores the interwoven connections between a tree species and the animals and insects whose lives depend on it—and who, in turn, work to ensure the tree's survival.Never really at home in a laboratory, Maloof took to the woods early in her career. Her enthusiasm for firsthand observation in the wild spills over into her writing, whether the subject is the composition of forest air, the eagle's preference for nesting in loblolly pines, the growth rings of the bald cypress, or the gray squirrel's fondness for weevil-infested acorns. With a storyteller's instinct for intriguing particulars, Maloof expands our notions about what a tree "is" through her many asides—about the six species of leafhoppers who eat only sycamore leaves or the midges who live inside holly berries and somehow prevent them from turning red.As a scientist, Maloof accepts that trees have a spiritual dimension that cannot be quantified. As an unrepentant tree hugger, she finds support in the scientific case for biodiversity. As an activist, she can't help but wonder how much time is left for our forests.

Show book