Jim Cole, an advocate for grizzly bears despite being the victim of two bear maulings in recent years, has passed away due to natural causes. He was 60 and had just published a new book on his experiences with grizzlies in Yellowstone National Park.

It was in Yellowstone where he suffered a second bear mauling in 2007, one that left him disfigured. He was hiking in the backcountry when he accidentally stepped on a mother grizzly with a cub nearby. The attack was so quick that he was unable to use the pepper spray attached to his belt; the griz tore out his left eye and badly disfigured his face. Months of reconstructive surgery was the result.

As was a book: "Blindsided: Surviving a Grizzly Attack and Still Loving the Great Bear" (St. Martin's Press; $25.99). The book just came out and Cole was in the process of promoting it in the area.

He was accused by some as being too reckless around grizzlies: he was ticketed by Yellowstone National Park officials in 2004 for being within 100 yards of grizzlies in violation of Park regulations. He fought the charge and won -- his defense was that the bears came to him and not vice versa -- leading to changes in Park regulations.

Photo by Bob Strand, courtesy of Macmillan.

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