In the Company of Bears: What Black Bears Have Taught Me about Intelligence and Intuition

Benjamin Kilham has spent decades studying wild black bears in Northern New Hampshire woodlands. He has also raised orphaned bear cubs, feeding and guiding them through the forest before releasing them back into the wild. The orphaned bears continue to regard him as their mother, and one 17-year-old female has granted him unusual access to observe her daily life and interactions with other wild bears. Through these observations, Kilham has made discoveries that challenge existing scientific understanding. While black bears have long been considered mostly solitary animals, his work reveals they engage in complex social interactions. They form friendships and alliances, maintain codes of conduct, and assist other bears when food is abundant. Kilham explores whether these cooperative behaviors resemble those of early human ancestors and whether bear communication patterns reflect our own evolutionary origins. The book presents Kilham's observations of bear behavior and argues for expanding scientific methodology to include alternative approaches to learning and research that could open new avenues of discovery.