After the snowmelt, at the dawning of spring, in emerald forests giants waken. They escape their underground lairs, somnolent, tousled - and hungry. Some are alone and wander the forests in search of food and others of their kind. Elsewhere, miniature facsimiles - minor versions of these quarter ton leviathans - shadow others, tethering them closer to their dens. For centuries, humans' link with bears has been tenuous. Whatever people's individuals views, however, bears are absorbing and captivating creatures. Intelligent, adaptable and dextrous, and instinctively caring, at the same time they can be lazy, belligerent and cantankerous. Always, however, they demand respect. They have survived for centuries at the top of the food chain, kings and queens of their environment - a creature to which all others bow.