Bear In The Back Seat II

Adventures of a Wildlife Ranger #2

by Kim DeLozier, Carolyn Jourdan

This is the second volume in a bestselling series of true stories from "[a]n extraordinary landscape populated with befuddled bears, hormonally-crazed elk, homicidal wild boars, hopelessly timid wolves, and nine million tourists, some of whom are clueless." The first volume was a #9 Wall Street Journal Bestseller in December of 2013. In Kim DeLozier's world, when sedated wild black bears wake up unexpectedly in the back seat of a helicopter in mid-flight, or in his car as he's driving down the highway, or in his office while he's talking on the phone, it's just another day in the park. You'll love seeing Kim and a fellow ranger tested as they bravely take on the task of dealing with enraged wild boars, elk, and more. A hilarious, heartwarming, and heartbreaking memoir by the chief wildlife ranger in the #1 most popular family vacation destination in the USA, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For over thirty years, Kim DeLozier acted as a referee in the wild, trying to protect millions of park visitors from one of the densest populations of wild black bears in America -- and the bears from tourists who get too close.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Animals, Adventure, Memoir, Humor, Biography

216 pages, Paperback

First published March 23, 2014

About the author

Kim DeLozier grew up living and working on his family's farm in eastern Tennessee raising cattle, tobacco, hogs (not wild), and chickens (13,000 of them).

Kim graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science.

He began his career with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1978 working as a wild hog hunter.

Kim retired in 2010 after 32 rewarding years of service in wildlife management.

During his career, Kim's involvement primarily focused on nuisance black bear management, wild hog control, white-tailed deer management, small animal management (skunks, raccoons, bats), and re-introduction efforts for elk, peregrine falcons, river otters, and red wolves.

Currently, Kim works for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation focusing on elk restoration throughout the eastern US.

Kim married his high school sweetheart, Donna, over 36 years ago.

They have two wonderful children, Carrie and Travis, and four precious grandsons, Baylor, Duke, Turner, and Fox.

Kim and Donna currently live on the original DeLozier farm in the same farmhouse his Dad was raised in.

They feel extremely blessed!

Reviews

[Fergus, Weaver of Autistic Webs · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say that has not already been said of this wonderful book? It is warm, intelligent, eco-friendly and - above all - Responsible in its reverence for the natural world.

Sure, there are a few BAD Bears. But most of them become that way through interaction with irresponsible human behaviour!

So let me ask you a question: what would YOU do as a Park Ranger if the insufficiently-sedated Bear in your Back Seat were to suddenly wake up?

Simple… you’d have to just Keep Your Head (or as the beleaguered ‘n bombed-out Brits did during WWII - Keep Calm and Carry On)!

Well…

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming the bombs on you -
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds worth of distance run -
Yours is the world and everything that’s in it!

Yes, Carolyn (whose reviews I follow right here on Goodreads) is the ideal National Park Ranger. Her mind throughout these fabulously funny and absurdly hilarious tales is so beautifully Clear, Calm and Collected.

If you pick up this collection at your local mall this weekend, you’ll find a great antidote to your workaday stress.

But - a little warning - as you get back into your vehicle to take this book home:

Check your Back Seat!

[Cassie Bolton]

I'm finished with this only in the context of knowing I'll never get through it. These stories would all be fine and cool if told in person, but putting them in writing honestly ruins them. I don't need to read about every time you saw a bear at a campsite and had to tranquilize it. Tell me around a campfire and then I'll listen.

[Bomi Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a great read! I'm so glad I found this randomly on sale. The book has amazingly full of exciting stories about being a Wildlife Ranger in the Great Smoky Mountains. I laughed out loud several times due to the funny moments the ranger would describe; dangerous but funny. This ranger clearly enjoys his job and has passion and love for animals and the Smoky Mountains. I learned so much about our national park and how to safely view wild animals without disrupting their home or putting either of us in danger. I can't wait to visit the park!

[Merissa Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the first book. Decided to give the second a shot. Just as entertaining.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book by a wildlife biologist in the GSMNP. Some stories were sad but most were hilarious. I laughed out loud once or twice.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kim does it again! An excellent book made for any bear, outdoor, or national park enthusiast! A mix of humor, feel good stories, and a few tales that will have you on the edge of your seat!

[Mindy Pollock · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. Love the Smoky Mountains and hearing the stories from the Ranger. Wish people would pay attention and STOP feeding the wildlife.

[Michael G. Hodges MD · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Great Stories

If you liked book 1, then you will enjoy book 2 even more. Visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will never be the same.

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book to read.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very similar to the previous book in the series. The stories are relatively short and can be read quickly, so it's a good book if you enjoy the outdoors but don't have a lot of time to read lengthy stories. It's especially enjoyable if you're familiar with Great Smoky Mountain National Park and the surrounding areas, as they will seem very familiar to the reader. Many of the stories are very similar, dealing with black bears, elk, and other native animals. As it seems is common for most wildlife and park rangers, us humans are the greatest challenge to manage. It's apparent that Kim loves his job and his co-workers and is passionate about the outdoors. I think his stories combined with Carolyn Jourdan's writing make this an enjoyable read. I'd suggest reading both books if this one sounds interesting to you.

[Katie Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another awesome book! It did get a little dark towards the middle. However, the author planned well and added some practical joke stories soon after. Love love love reading about his career and all his stories. Thank you for sharing them and for the helpful hints at the end of both books as to how to react to a bear encounter. 50 yards - 150 ft!!! No running, no climbing trees. Don’t pack a family picnic in your kid’s backpack while hiking - yah oops did that one personally in GSMNP. Glad nothing happened - we were lucky. Don’t let kids run ahead. Stay together as a group. Stay calm and back away. Talk in low tones, then shout and throw rocks if it still comes towards you, then fight if it comes to that. Got it. Thank you!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED the first book, so I HAD to read the second one. Since taking a class about Yellowstone wolves as a college student, I've had a passion for wolves. Stumbling on wolves in Chapter 2 made this one ever better. This one also focused a lot on the reintroduction of elk, more so than focusing on bears or wolves. It was fascinating to learn more about elk (we have them locally, but I've never read up on them), and I loved the stories Kim told about elk with personalities. They put him in some delightfully entertaining situations, and it made for some good, enjoyable reading. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about large critters and life in the Park.

[Ursula Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

More Exciting Bear and Wildlife Adventures

This is the second of a two book series about the authors' experiences dealing with bears, elk, wolves, hogs and more in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There ate fun and frightening encounters and some memorable animals. This book will definitely make you smile. I enjoy reading about the rangers and wildlife managers and their accounts of the highs and lows of their careers. I read this book using immersion reading, while listening to the audio book narrated by Carey Jones. His authentic dialect beautifully compliments the material. A fun and thought provoking read.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 own
Bought the second book in this series in May when I was in the great smoky Mountains. Bought the first book back in 2019 and really enjoyed it so thought I would give the second one a try normally, the next in the series is not as good as the first because they’ve used up all the good stuff in the first book, not true for this series. A lot of good short stories about wildlife told in an entertaining way. a quick and easy read, that would be enjoyed by anyone who likes wildlife. Bonus points if you’ve ever been to the great Smoky Mountains national Park because you’ll recognize the locations in this book.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I literally laughed out loud at some of the stories, while others made me want to cry -- at least in part due to the stupidity of people. I live near the Smokies, so there was that much more meaning for me as well.

Highly recommend if you are looking for stories set in a national park that give insight into just what some of the rangers deal with on a daily basis. (and yes, I copied my review for book 1 for book 2 - just as funny and enlightening as the first)

[Jerimy Stoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much like the first memoir written by this pair of authors, this is a fun read about interactions between wild animals, other wild animals, and people. It's amazing to me to think about how much acreage such a small group of Wildlife Rangers has to cover. It's daunting. I would recommend this quick 200 page read to people who are interested in wildlife, memoirs, biographies, autobiographies, nature, conservation, outdoors, and humor.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though Kim DeLozier is not a writer, he is a story teller, and I am grateful that I ran across a copy of the first volume of this memoir when I took a road trip on the Shenandoah/Blue Ridge Parkway. His recounting of experiences of wildlife management are engaging and entertaining, and give a underlying message that if one cares about wildlife and nature that leaving it alone is the best policy. Thanks Kim.

[Chris Cowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice enough stories about being a ranger in the Smoky Mountains. Pretty inconsequential, but having recently driven over said mountains. which are stunning, for me it's a happy reminder of a beautiful place and the animals I mostly didn't see there - except we did see elks and wild turkey. No bears though.

[Lisa Cherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this read! I’m a big fan of the national parks and found this down to earth storytelling to be great bedtime reading. I bought it for my grandkids. But I’m not sure they’ll be up to some of the rather “scary“ encounters yet! I want to keep them out camping with me. But I’ll use select chapters with them now that I pre-read it.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A follow-up to DeLozier’s first book, he recounts more stories about his time as a wildlife ranger. This time he focuses his stories more on both bears and elk. Some of his stories are heartwarming, while others are almost frightening. But the moral of the book, don’t run from Smoky Mountain black bears or play dead—fight back.

[Summer Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

The stories in this book aren't laugh-out-loud funny like in book one, but they are all interesting, and Delozier provides a great window into the realities of wildlife management as well as tips on how visitors can help keep wildlife wild and stay safe in the park.

Main theme: DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS!!!

[Anu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always fun to read tales from wildlife rangers. Some of the stories are hilarious while others make you go “awww” I found the author’s style rather tedious and repetitive - it was hard to retain interest after the first half. Good spot of comfort reading though 🐻

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed out loud more than once while reading this book, held my breath a few times, and shed a tear occasionally, but I never lost interest. If you love the Great Smokes National Park, and/or wild animals, you need to read this book!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

More stories about being a wildlife ranger in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. Many are funny, however, the overriding theme is how people feeding wildlife usually ends with the animal learning to associate people and food, which is never a good outcome.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating book telling about different situations a wildlife ranger encountered with wildlife in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It not involves encounters with bears but also with elk.

[diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding read

This book was impossible to put down. One of the best books I've read in a long time. Wish there was a third in the series.

[Mary Moxley Sale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read it you love GSMNP

This was a fun companion to Hear in the Backseat. If you enjoy the great outdoors, you'll enjoy this one!

[Kathy Govreau · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable read. It was also very informative.

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The stars of the book are the bears, elk, and hogs. Entertaining, but could use an editor.

[Lynne Sternett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved!