Book Review: Down from the Mountain

By Gabiel Morley

Grizzly bears are one of Americas most mysterious creatures. Outsized and mythic, they hold a vaunted place in the predator hierarchy. In Down From the Mountain: The Life and Death of a Grizzly Bear, author Bryce Andrews tries to describe the dangerous and mundane life of one mother bear and her cubs, as they weave through Montanas Mission Valley.

Grizzly bears have been in a struggle for survival amid the loss of their natural habitat, but the bears are attempting a comeback out west in Montanas Mission Valley, where a swath of protected wilderness allows the bears to live unencumbered for the most part.

Sometime in early 2002, a female grizzly wandered into the valley ominously close to a dairy farm, lured by the scent of ripening apples. Bears have a heightened sense of smell and will often walk for miles to find a good meal.

The bears foray into town set off a years-long chain of events, and it provides the story arc for Andrews book. Millie, as the bear became known, was soon to have cubs of her own. Their tragic story unfolds over a single season in the Mission Valley, framed against the backdrop of an encroaching and developing world.

Andrews, who works for a conservation group, is immersed in the story himself. His personal account of navigating the divide between protecting society from bears and protecting bears from society mimics Millies own confusing journey. For example, food is plentiful and easy to get in town, but it is also fraught with peril.

Down From the Mountain will take readers on a journey through Big Sky country, but also offers an intimate glimpse into the vast ecosystem we share with all creatures.