 | By: Kristen Smith, Special to QMI Agency Friday, July 1, 2011 Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin |
Gabriel Mapel loves bears so much he wrote a book about protecting them.
The 12-year-old author of Oh No, Gertrude! will be reading at the Clearview Public Library branch in New Lowell next Thursday and at the Stayner branch next Saturday.
Mapel spends a lot of time hiking in Shenandoah Park in Virginia, where more than 500 bears live.
During a hike with his father, Mapel came across a bear and her three cubs. The bear came to be known as Gertrude.
Mapel said the black bear began to frequent a picnic ground and was getting into food left by hikers.
"We saw her and we knew she was going to get into trouble," he said.
Sure enough, the bear was trapped and moved about 120 kilometres away. This endangers bear's lives because the bears have to fight to establish territory, said Mapel.
"We decided our family would write the book to educate people how to keep bears safe," said Mapel
"It became my book," said Mapel, after his parents, Daniel and Mary (Mary, nee Ivits grew up in New Lowell, and attended Stayner Collegiate), encouraged him to try a first draft.
Oh No, Gertrude! was published when Mapel was 10 years old and it is now sold in National parks in Canada and the U.S.
Protecting bears can be quite simple -don't feed them, clean up after a picnic, bear-proof trash cans, and bring in bird seed in the summer, he says.
Mapel said he's having a great time travelling and reading his book.
"I just love teaching people how to (protect the bears), because I love them so much," said Mapel, who has seen more than 400 bears in his life and donates half his book profits to organization benefiting black bears.
- ksmith@theenterprisebulletin.com
The 12-year-old author of Oh No, Gertrude! will be reading at the Clearview Public Library branch in New Lowell next Thursday and at the Stayner branch next Saturday.
Mapel spends a lot of time hiking in Shenandoah Park in Virginia, where more than 500 bears live.
During a hike with his father, Mapel came across a bear and her three cubs. The bear came to be known as Gertrude.
Mapel said the black bear began to frequent a picnic ground and was getting into food left by hikers.
"We saw her and we knew she was going to get into trouble," he said.
Sure enough, the bear was trapped and moved about 120 kilometres away. This endangers bear's lives because the bears have to fight to establish territory, said Mapel.
"We decided our family would write the book to educate people how to keep bears safe," said Mapel
"It became my book," said Mapel, after his parents, Daniel and Mary (Mary, nee Ivits grew up in New Lowell, and attended Stayner Collegiate), encouraged him to try a first draft.
Oh No, Gertrude! was published when Mapel was 10 years old and it is now sold in National parks in Canada and the U.S.
Protecting bears can be quite simple -don't feed them, clean up after a picnic, bear-proof trash cans, and bring in bird seed in the summer, he says.
Mapel said he's having a great time travelling and reading his book.
"I just love teaching people how to (protect the bears), because I love them so much," said Mapel, who has seen more than 400 bears in his life and donates half his book profits to organization benefiting black bears.
- ksmith@theenterprisebulletin.com
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