Few people know bears as intimately as author and bear behavioralist Else Poulsen, who died on April 15 in her home in Ontario, Canada, after a battle with cancer. She was 61.

If ever there was a bear whisperer, Poulsen was one. She raised bears, comforted bears, taught bears, learned from bears, had bears communicate their needs to her, and nursed bears back to health. She shared in the joy of a polar bear discovering soil under her paws for the first time in 20 years, felt the pride of a cub learning to crack nuts with her molars.

She also grieved at the barbarity of captivity for Asian black bears in China and Vietnam, which is how she and I bonded,