Ice Age Cave Bear: The Giant Beast That Terrified Ancient Humans. Barbara Hehner. Illustrated by Mark Hallett. Markham, ON: Scholastic/Madison Press Canada, 2002. 32 pp., pbk., $10.99. ISBN 0-7791-1347-0. Subject Heading: Cave bear-Juvenile literature. Grades 4-8 / Ages 9-14. Review by Gillian Richardson. *** /4

excerpt:

So many bears padded through the passageways of European caves that the rocks were worn smooth and shiny where their bodies had rubbed. Cave floors and walls became covered with deep scratch marks made by their claws as they walked and stretched. Because of this, and the fact that the bones of so many bears were found together, early researchers once believed that cave bears lived in large groups, unlike any bears today.

However, later scientists realized that the many scratch marks came from a long series of bears using these caves over thousands of years. And if only one cave bear died every other year over a period of 100,000 years, this would account for the bones of approximately 50,000 individual bears found in one cave in Austria.

If you are a bear fan, the fearsome beast on the cover of Ice Age Cave Bear will grab your attention. The subtitle, The Giant Beast That Terrified Ancient Humans, prepares you to learn the fascinating history of the creature that is the focus of this book. According to bones and wall paintings first found in a cave in south east France in 1994, it is evident to scientists that an enormous species of bear occupied caves at the same time as the early humans who hunted them, for over 100,000 years. Skulls found in many European caves have revealed the monsters were mostly plant eaters and may have been as big as the huge Kodiak brown bear of Alaska. Clues have provided researchers with a profile of the habits and daily life of these ancient bears, beasts that are believed to have given rise to legends of dragons. Cave bears survived until the end of the last Ice Age when they may have died out due to the change in climate and vegetation.

     A chart illustrates the evolution of bears dating back 40-30 million years. A double-page painting shows the variety of animals that likely shared the cave bear's world. Don't miss page 7 for an impressive view of a life-size cave bear paw or the artist's dramatic rendition of a bear-human encounter within a cave. Two pages briefly detail the eight species of bears found worldwide today. A short glossary, list of further readings and websites, and index are included.

     The book is 9 by 12, slightly oversized which gives the full-colour illustrations greater impact. The print, however, is fairly small and dense. Youngsters who are proficient in reading the complex details (and memorizing those long names) of prehistoric beasts will enjoy the thoroughly researched facts presented here. This will be a good addition to a popular section of the nonfiction shelves.

Recommended.

Gillian Richardson is a freelance writer and former teacher-librarian living in BC.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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