S1 Episode 24: Rob Foster

We interview Rob Foster from his home in Ontario, Canada about his work in the Canadian boreal forests and his frequent run-ins with Black and Grizzly bears. He describes an astonishing encounter with a predatory Black bear that he fought off for over 45 minutes in the back-woods with only a single can of bear spray and a pocket knife. He also dispenses good advice on how to protect yourself from bears if you are alone in the woods.

Rob has a huge number of entries from his survey work on iNaturalist. The newspaper article highlighting Rob’s fight with the black bear is here. There are many trip reports on looking for Spectacled bears and Mountain tapirs on mammalwatching’s Ecuador page. Cover art – American black bear – by Dr. Rob Foster.