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Imagine what it's like to work in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Can you picture what it's like to work with the animals, the tourists, and working to maintain the balance that is required to keep the animals and people safe?
Kim Delozier reflects upon his 30 years of service to the NPS in this wonderful romp down memory lane. Kim worked with the wildlife, and the love that he has for the park, for his job, and mostly for the bears in the park come through on every single page.
The Smokies are my favorite National Park, and we have been there many times. We have been to talks given by Kim back when he was a ranger working at headquarters. (As opposed to out in the field, where the real action is going on.) I had never stopped to think about the wildlife management aspect of working in the park. Kim brings the very real struggles that park rangers have, maintaining the safety of the animals when millions of tourists are walking obliviously next to them, and many tourists are unwittingly endangering the lives of these bears with their actions.
Did you know, Garbage Kills Bears? Through our own idiocy and lack of attention to details, we humans have taught bears that they can come to humans, or raid their trash cans for food. Once bears learn not to fear humans, and learn that humans are a source of food, they become a danger to themselves and to humans. While reminiscing about the highlights of his time working in the Smokies, he continuously comes back to how much he loves the black bears, and what we can do to protect them and keep them safe.
A note here: this book reminds me in many ways of the All Creatures... books written by James Herriott.
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