River of Lost Bears

"They'll drown. The bear spirits will drown and be lost forever!"

— Lusa witnessing the bear spirits trapped in the river in River of Lost Bears, page 214

Template:Infobox River of Lost Bears is the third book in the Return to the Wild series. It is currently unknown who the bear on the cover is, but it could be Toklo or Ujurak. Below the portrait is Toklo catching a fish, with Kallik, Yakone, and Lusa watching.

The Blurb

Now that Kallik and Yakone have decided to join Toklo and Lusa on the rest of their journey home, the foursome heads toward warmer territories. Spring is coming, and Toklo and Lusa are overjoyed to be away from the ice, surrounded by green forests and flowing rivers once again.

But their progress is slow, and Toklo grows desperate to leave the struggles of their journey behind. As the group pushes toward the mountains where brown bears roam, Toklo must decide whether to see the quest through to the end...or to start a new life on his own.

Detailed Plot Summary

The bears have reached land at last. Lusa is overjoyed to be back in the warm forests. Toklo says that he recognizes the sound of the river, suggesting that he was coming nearer to his birthplace. Lusa suggests that they could live here, and they were close enough to the melting sea to see Kallik and Yakone, but Toklo stares at at her with a baffled expression, saying that it wasn't the right place for him. Kallik manages to catch a fish, but Lusa does not eat her share because there would be insects and things she had not eaten in a while for her. Lusa is almost run over by a firebeast when she didn't realize the sound of firebeasts from the river.

When they reach the other side of the blackpath, Lusa tries fishing and catches a fish along with Yakone and Toklo. They hear a growl and Toklo realizes that they must be in some other bear's territory. It's a black bear, they later find out is named Hakan. Toklo apologizes for being in his territory, and says that Hakan won't see them again. Toklo is off hunting when he hears a she-bear crying out for help. He recognizes Hakan, from their earlier encounter and finds out that the she-bear is Hakan's sister, Chenoa. He fights with Hakan, curbing his strength so he won't really hurt the black bear. The younger black bear, Chenoa, explains that her brother thinks that she killed their mother when they were cubs. Chenoa tripped on a blackpath, causing their mother to come back and help her, that's when the firebeast hit her and killed her. Hakan blames Chenoa for their mother's death, and Chenoa blames herself as well. Toklo tells Chenoa that he had a brother, Tobi, who died and then his mother Oka didn't want him anymore. Chenoa asks where his territory is, and Toklo says that he's been traveling with Lusa, Kallik and Yakone. And Ujurak. Chenoa says that if she wasn't around, maybe Hakan wouldn't be so angry all the time. She says it's because she reminds Hakan of their mother all the time.

Back at the riverside, Kallik and Yakone plan their future. Kallik says she's looking forward to their first burn-sky together. Yakone says that they will watch the sun and hunt for one another, he also says when snow-sky comes they can share a den and stay warm together. Kallik looks up at the sky, and hears Ujurak, telling her that he is still with her, and not to miss her too much.

Later at night while the bears are sleeping, Toklo and the others find out that they are surounded by some wolverines. Toklo, Yakone and Kallik fight off the wolverines but finds out that Lusa isn't with them and calls for her.

Lusa is running away from the wolverines and seperated from the others. Lusa climbs a tree and tries to fight them but one bites her rump leaving her in pain. Lusa spots another black bear who she finds out later is Chenoa who helps her and leads her to the others.

In the morning when Chenoa and Toklo come back after she shows him the  mountains they come across Hakan. Hakan threatens Chenoa and attacks her for being with Toklo and his friends then leaves. When Toklo and Chenoa are back with the others Hakan tells them to leave. Lusa begs Toklo to let her stay but he tells her to stay and leaves.

Later, after Lusa has a dream from Ujurak she again begs Toklo to bring Chenoa. Toklo agrees and goes to find her, but is attacked by Hakan who tries to drown him. Chenoa stops him and yells at him and decides that she wants to go with Toklo. Hakan is furious and storms off. 

The bears find another river and stay there until Lusa is healed. While Kallik, Toklo and Yakone hunt; Chenoa teaches Lusa how to ride the water currants. Toklo comes and joins them. When Lusa goes into a stronger currant, she is almost hit by a flat-face raft and Toklo has to go and save her. After saves Lusa, he decides that they should get moving.

After a while the bears come across a waterfall and Toklo thinks that they have to go all the way back to get around it. But Yakone suggest they should climb it. When they're at the top they spot some flat-faces and their firebeast close to them. They decide to swim to the other side to get away. Kallik and Yakone go first; and Toklo, Lusa and Chenoa go togather. When Lusa slips trying to get on a rock, Chenoa helps her but the strong currant pushes her onto the edge with the waterfall. Lusa and the others climb back down and finds her dead and buries her next to a tree.

Coming Soon

Praise

Praise for Seekers: “Hunter creates a richly sensuous world filled with cruelty, beauty, tenderness, savagery and just enough underlying legendary background to add mystery…fans of animal fantasies will haunt the shelves for the next volume.” (Kirkus Reviews )

“These stories will be welcomed by the Warriors series’ many fans.” (ALA Booklist )

Characters

Polar Bears

• Kallik
• Yakone
• Taqqiq (mentioned)
• Nanuk (mentioned)
• Kissimi (mentioned)

Grizzly Bears

• Toklo
• Ujurak
• Tobi (mentioned)
• Oka(mentioned)

Black Bears

• Lusa
• Chenoa
• Hakan
• Chenoa's and Hakan's Mother (mentioned)

Grolar Bears

• Nanulak (mentioned)

Other

• Alach (mentioned)

Trivia

• Even though bear claws constantly keep contact with the ground, it is said in River of Lost Bears that Toklo "Unsheathed his claws to get a better grip", but bears can only keep their claws out.