Mark of the Grizzly: Revised And Updated With More Stories Of Recent Bear Attacks And The Hard Lessons Learned

by Scott McMillion

A must-read about these magnificent but sometimes deadly creatures—thoroughly revised, expanded, and updated

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Animals

304 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2011

Reviews

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

By now, Scott McMillion’s Mark of the Grizzly is recognized as a classic. Published almost 14 years ago, it has been reprinted more that 14 times. And the kind of success this book enjoys is the most pleasing of all because sales certainly weren’t driven by a lavish marketing campaign or big publicity splash (though in... fairness, bears helped here and there). This book succeeds for the best of all reasons: everyone who reads it is blown away, and they are immediately compelled to express their enthusiasm to anyone within earshot. The prose itself can close in on you with the power of a Grizzly charge or linger with the heartbreak of human tragedy. This is just the kind of book that makes you feel more alive, alert, and grateful to inhabit a planet with such spectacular animals. . . and writers.

[Tyler Fabian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bears are cool man

[Bryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, compassionate, and scathing when it needs to be.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

An examination of grizzly bears, their behaviors, challenges, and their interactions with people. Each chapter is set around a story of a mauling, and McMillion uses the mauling to explore a theme.

At times gripping, always interesting, and occasionally useful. If all you care about is advice for bear country, go with Herrero’s Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance instead.

[Lolypa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book that I breezed through quickly because of the intrigue I have with these beautiful, majestic animals and the reminder of the terror they can bring if you find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time or are just plain careless. I throughly appreciate the stories told by the survivors that have been mauled, almost to death and I feel I have learned a lot by reading this book.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative

Wow, I really enjoyed this book. It's not one of those off the hinge "Let's kill all of the bears!" books. It also isn't a book that portrays bears as cuddly and gentle giants. I love and fear bears and I want the truth about them; no exaggerations. This book delivers! I love that this book also contains some good advice about safety in bear country. I recommend this book to everyone!

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable (if not terrifying at times) read. Each chapter is independent of the others, but of course all relating to the grizzly bear. I think McMillion did a great job of telling each person's grizzly encounter while also adding context and some educational points. For the revised version, I enjoyed the postscript sections as well. I am certainly more knowledgeable about grizzly bears than I was before!

[David H. Schurr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like grizzly bears? Read this.

Personally I like the book because they are true events. If you like grizzly bears being out there for your occasional viewing enjoyment through Idaho, Montana, Canada, Alaska etc., then you can learn a little about not being a statistic when see or encounter one of these grand animals. Just don't be an idiot around their homes and respect that they are wild animals doing everything they need to for survival.

[Diane Clouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this book in 2017 when I purchased it at a gift shop in Yellowstone National Park. I’d read a few chapters every so often but then forgot about it for 3 or 4 years. Decided to finish reading my last 75 unread pages a couple of days ago. I was saddened to read about the death of Kevin Kammer from Grand Rapids, MI in the second to last chapter, since I am from that town (although I did not know him).

[Sanford Smith]

This is a great book. Very well written by a seasoned newspaper man and writer. The insights and depth of thought about Grizzlys and people make each story a stand alone piece. I learned a lot about bears and people by reading this book. I highly recommend this to all outdoor folk and animal lovers too, even if you've never even visited Grizzly country. I plan to read McMillion's other work too.

[Melissa Sinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended by the Tooth and Claw Podcast - so glad they did. This book served me well in a journey to educate myself so I'm not so frightened of bears. It helped me understand bear behavior a lot more and explain why attacks happen and what to do in the very rare case of one happening. Well written and not sensationalized.

[Benjamin Hannum · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book by Scott McMillion! The stories are fantastic. McMillion tries to paint a fair and honest picture of the relationship between grizzlies and humans. After reading this book, I was convinced a grizzly was going to tear me to shreds in my backyard...and I live in Indiana!!!

[Phil Bayly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different perspective about a fascinating animal. Thoroughly researched and well written. A haunting reminder that wild animals may be loved from afar but must be respected at any distance. They're not called Wildlife for nothing.

[Susan Franzen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done!

Fascinating stories that left me with a greater appreciation for survivors and the bears. A good resource for anyone in bear country.

[Nainika Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A MUST READ.

[Kim Belnap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although intense and unnerving, I think it is good for anyone in grizzly territory to read. Lots of good advice. I’ll definitely be more careful moving forward.

[David Parkinson]

Wow. Great book.

[Gabby]

I think about this all the time and I don't live in grizzly country

[Marc]

Great!

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm an avid hiker in BC and I try to do this dance where I to the responsible thing and get educated about bears, but then spend a few years of exposure therapy before I'm comfortable being out there alone. In the last 5 years, I've read Bear Attacks by Stephen Herrero, the classic. I've read Shelton's Bear Encounter Survival Guide, which I'd reccommend for a different viewpoint than McMillion and Herrero. I've also read Grizzly Heart by Charlie Russell (living among Grizzlies in Russia).

I went into this book for a refresher, looking for a few specifics, but I've actually got as many questions now as when I started. Things are less black and white than I remember. Certainly there is a best practices, but there are few guarantees.

As for this book, I liked it. Good writing, good number of pages spent on each story, good variety of contexts, though lots about Alaska and Montana/Wyoming in particular. I'm glad I read the revised edition, to hear some of the updates and new findings. As for the downsides, I do agree with others that have said that there could've been fewer stories. There is certainly some redundancy. I would've preferred maybe a story for each lesson learned, and more time spent on a conclusion, reiterating in detail the best practices for any given encounter type.

For those reading this that haven't read a book about bear attacks before, be warned that it is very graphic. I could only read a max of two stories per day before I'd feel sick.

Also keep in mind this book is about Grizzlies only, and doesn't compare grizzly attacks to black bear attacks, which are different in some key ways.

Overall, it was a great book and well worth the read, though certainly there's room for improvement if there was ever a third edition.

I'm still left with a few questions and would love if anyone had any input:

1. Why do grizzlies favor the alpine and force the black bears into the valley bottoms? Herrero's book speculates about the biology and the evolution, but I'm still left unable to answer this question entirely.

2. Should people always be submissive in a defensive attack/surprise encounter by a Grizzly?

3. Should you ALWAYS use bear spray when being charged? Is this not the kind of thing that conveys the sort of aggression/dominance that you typically want to avoid?

4. At what point should you stop spraying the bear and start playing dead? When contact has been made?

5. At what point do you give up on playing dead and start to fight back? When you are clearly being eaten or dragged away?

[Paul]

Paul Nieves
Mark of the grizzly
By, Scott McMillon

One of my favorite books Mark of the Grizzly. The problem the author promises to solve is to tell about the attacks of the Grizzly bears and solve them this is all accomplished by telling and explain the encounter with the bears. The author is qualified to write about this subject because he was told or was actually a part of the attack. This book’s tone is thrilling because when the authors talking about the attacks, they are always leading up to something crazy. Also there are no illustrations in this book. My feeling about this book was good because I really like the parts where their ok lots of adrenalin and that made me want to keep reading. I recommend this book to 14 or older because there is some adult language.
The way this book was written was in order of the events; then he would start over on a new grizzly attack. My favorite part of the book was the beginning because it had the most thrilling attacks. My least favorite part of the book was the end, because you’ll get bored of hearing the same old grizzly attacks. If I could change something in this book it would be the end of the story because the author should have ended it by telling his personal experiences with the grizzly bears. I would recommend this book only to people who love gory and thrilling books.

[Matthew Ciarvella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This might well be the definitive book for any outdoors enthusiast on the subject of bears. It's a remarkably balanced book: the stories of bear attacks are spared none of their grim, gruesome details (I had to resist the urge to go with grisly), which should be suitably discouraging to the tourist subset that treats all wildlife as cuddly and tame.

On the other hand, the bears are not demonized or made into monsters. There is no call for their eradication. And this is how it should be for those that love the wild, natural places left in the world. We should not look at it with fuzzy naivete nor myopic disregard for ecological health, but from a balanced perspective that appreciates the wilds and its denizens for exactly what they are.

You may feel some trepidation the next time you go camping after reading this book, however.

[Cynthia Skinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this in one sitting the other night here in Montana. The more I read the more I had to read even though I felt like I was going to throw up. Terrifying. Finished about 3 in the morning. I think I was relating too much with the stories because I had worked for the Forest Service for a few years in late 70s early 80s in northern California, and though of course we don't have grizzlies anymore, this book reminded me of when I felt like I was being watched out there when on occasion I had to go out alone. Wow, never had any protection but a radio and a truck far off on the road. Totally sold on bear spray after reading this, and will consider using it on the poor panthers of California, that is if they don't leap from a tree before I know it. Boo!

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

It always feels a little uncomfortable to enjoy reading stories where you know that real people have been through terrible ordeals to provide those stories, and it's easy for authors to stray into gruesome "penny dreadful" sensationalist territory with them. With that in mind, I think the author does a great job balancing compassion for both the bears and the victims here and providing unbiased accounts of their stories. It doesn't paint bears as horrible bloodthirsty monsters or as innocent fluffy babies who didn't know better, but as complex animals who are trying to live in a complicated world alongside humans, sometimes with disastrous results. A good, respect building read for anyone who is likely to be where bears may be. 

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is clear from this book that the best way to survive a bear attack is to not get attacked by a bear.

Bears will kill you. Quickly and without any trouble at all. They can run faster than you, they can climb trees better than you, and they are exponentially stronger. There are survivors in some of these stories, but it seems that whether you survive or not is largely due to luck.

This book is well-written, and the stories will make you think the next time you're out hiking or camping. Seriously, don't get attacked by a bear.

[Katelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second time I have read this book but it is a newer edition and possibly better than the first. I recommend to anyone who loves bears or anyone who may be traveling in an area where grizzlies live.

[Terryfyre Carriere · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has all the contents of the previous edition (1998) with 8 new updates. I was hoping that he would add some updates on previous survivors, but he has included a section covering Timothy Treadwell. It is a suspense filled and sometimes terrifying read. I loved it!

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone who spends time in Grizzly territory.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this one up at Yellowstone and really enjoyed it (except for the people getting mauled by bears, of course).

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good! Informative, too. I learned about their power, habits, habitats, and how they interact with people and other bears. A must-read.