The loneliest Polar bear / Kale Williams.
Record details
- ISBN: 1984826336 : HRD
- ISBN: 9781984826336 : HRD
- ISBN: 9781984826336
- ISBN: 1984826336
- Physical Description: 288 p.
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Crown, [2021]
Content descriptions
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Summary, etc.: | "The heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful story of an abandoned polar bear cub named Nora and the humans working tirelessly to save her and her species, whose uncertain future in the accelerating climate crisis is closely tied to our own. Six days after giving birth, a polar bear named Aurora got up and walked away from her den at the Columbus Zoo, leaving her tiny squealing cub to fend for herself. Hours later, Aurora still hadn't returned. The cub was furless and blind, and with her temperature dropping dangerously, the zookeepers entrusted with her care felt they had no choice: They would have to raise one of the most dangerous predators in the world by hand. Over the next few weeks, a group of veterinarians and zookeepers worked around the clock to save the cub, whom they called Nora. Humans rarely get as close to a polar bear as Nora's keepers got to their fuzzy charge. But the two species have long been intertwined. Three decades before Nora's birth, her father, Nanuq, was orphaned when an Inupiat hunter killed his mother, leaving Nanuq to be sent to a zoo. That hunter, Gene Agnaboogok, now faces some of the same threats as the wild bears near his Alaskan village of Wales, on the westernmost tip of the North American continent. As sea ice diminishes and temperatures creep up year after year, Agnaboogok and the polar bears-and everyone and everything else living in the far north-are being forced to adapt. Not all of them will succeed. Sweeping and tender, The Loneliest Polar Bear explores the fraught relationship humans have with the natural world, the exploitative and sinister causes of the environmental mess we find ourselves in, and how the fate of polar bears is not theirs alone"-- Provided by publisher. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Polar bear > Ohio > Biography. Polar bear > Infancy. Human-animal relationships. Zoos > Ohio > Powell. |
Available copies
- 14 of 14 copies available at Bibliomation.
- 1 of 1 copy available at Silas Bronson Library. (Show)
Holds
- 1 current hold with 14 total copies.
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Silas Bronson Library - Waterbury | 599.786 WIL (Text) | 34005150472750 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Beekley Community Library - New Hartford | 599.786 WILLIAMS, K. (Text) | 32544072739781 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Black Rock Branch - Bridgeport | 599.786 WILLIAMS (Text) | 34000151214418 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Easton Public Library | 599.786 WILLIAMS, KALE (Text) | 37777123602393 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Hall Memorial Library - Ellington | 599.786 WILLIAMS (Text) | 34037146721511 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Janet Carlson Calvert Library - Franklin | 599.786 WIL (Text) | 33345000329698 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Kent Library Association - Kent | 599.786 WIL (Text) | 33410144728724 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Kent Memorial Library - Suffield | 599.786 W (Text) | 32518147371721 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
North Branch - Bridgeport | 599.786 WILLIAMS (Text) | 34000148028269 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Ridgefield Library | 599.786 WIL (Text) | 34010150280625 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Library Journal Review
The Loneliest Polar Bear : A True Story of Survival and Peril on the Edge of a Warming World
Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
In this debut, science and environmental journalist Williams chronicles the life of Nora, a polar bear cub whose mother abandoned her days after her birth at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Nora is raised by zoo staff, who must deal with her physical and mental challenges, from creating a proper formula for her to eat as a cub to alleviating her anxiety as she matures. Through Nora's story, Williams weaves information about polar bear research, both in captivity and in the wild. He intersperses the history of Indigenous people of the Arctic, past and present. In doing so, he illuminates the increasing barriers to their traditional way of life caused by late-forming sea ice and warming temperatures, connecting these concerns to climate change and similar issues faced by polar bears. Finally, he covers climate change itself as both a political and a societal issue. VERDICT While there are some confusing segues, overall, this is an absorbing, extensively researched book for fans of popular science and those who appreciate stories about polar bears, both captive and wild, as well as behind-the-scenes work at zoos. Readers interested in learning more about polar bears and their changing habitats should also try James Raffan's Ice Walker (2019).--Sue O'Brien, Downers Grove, IL
Publishers Weekly Review
The Loneliest Polar Bear : A True Story of Survival and Peril on the Edge of a Warming World
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Journalist Williams debuts with an informative and heartfelt portrayal of the Arctic in distress. At the center of the story is a polar bear cub named Nora who was born at Ohio's Columbus Zoo in 2015, abandoned by her mother, and subsequently raised by a devoted team that, among other things, donned wet suits to coax her to swim. "Every cub--wild or captive--shoulders a share of the burden of a species in peril," Williams writes, and, indeed Nora became famous as "the sad-eyed face of climate change" and drew 250,000 visitors to the zoo in six months. She also serves here as a jumping off point for Williams's exploration of climate change. He describes an Alaskan Inupiat village where rising temperatures have impacted hunters and surveys "all the ways humans and polar bears" are "inextricably tangled," skillfully interweaving the dramatic survival struggle in the Arctic with the no-less-emotional work of conservationists who have used polar bears to bring "the far-flung realities of climate change" home to the U.S. This page-turner is sure to captivate animal lovers, nature enthusiasts, and anyone looking for a touching story. Agent: Anna Sproul-Latimer, Neon Literary. (Mar.)
Kirkus Review
The Loneliest Polar Bear : A True Story of Survival and Peril on the Edge of a Warming World
Kirkus Reviews
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
The story of a polar bear cub named Nora reveals the complex relationship among humans, animals, and the world we share. Polar bears have long symbolized the "wild north," a habitat that has steadily eroded due to global warming--and which is currently in critical danger. As Oregonian reporter Williams shows, polar bears have "become the sad-eyed face of climate changeâ¦represent[ing] the damage humans have done to the earth." In this eye-opening book, the author brings us deeply into the life of Nora, who was raised by a group of compassionate human "moms" after being abandoned by her mother in captivity at the Columbus Zoo. Few readers will be able to resist the charms of this feisty and strong-willed cub. Of course, writes Williams, that is exactly the point: Big, lovable animals like polar bears are adorable ambassadors for their species and habitats, and by connecting them with humans, it gives the public a reason to care about their welfare. However, this interplay touches on two major conflicts, the causes and effects of climate change and the role of zoos: "Are zoos helping animals or hurting them?" Williams deftly navigates these tricky subjects, chronicling the lives of the Indigenous people inhabiting a melting landscape in the far north and the expert team of animal handlers responsible for Nora's upbringing. The author weaves these topics together through tales of challenge and triumph, letting the characters and the science demonstrate how much is at stake. Even though the warming planet has little to offer in the way of good news, Williams never loses hope that things can change and that humans can improve their behavior toward animals. "Their stories have power," he writes of animal ambassadors, a pronouncement that his compelling book bears out. A well-written tribute to a creature whose struggle to survive is one of many calls to action to save our ailing planet. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
BookList Review
The Loneliest Polar Bear : A True Story of Survival and Peril on the Edge of a Warming World
Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Reporter Williams has created an attention-grabber from page one. Aurora, a polar bear residing at the Columbus Zoo, had given birth to two cubs. One died after a few days, but the second cub was nursing well and thriving until Aurora walked out of the den and never went back. The story of saving Nora, as the abandoned cub was eventually named, is intertwined with accounts of international efforts to save the polar bear from extinction. As zookeepers and veterinarians scramble to keep Nora alive, Williams tells the parallel story of scientists struggling to explain global climate change to a skeptical public and government. As Nora grows, we learn about how her father came into captivity after being orphaned when his mother was killed and how scientists study polar bears in the wild. Williams widens the lens to set Nora's tale amid human history in the Arctic while also illuminating the role zoos play in education and in the breeding of endangered species. This compulsively readable narrative demonstrates how forging a connection with one cute polar bear cub can inspire people to learn about and call for the protection of wild polar bears and their threatened habitat.