The Great Grizzlies Go Home

A bear’s job description is fairly short: eat! Within a known territory, they usually roam and hunt for edibles of all kinds. Sometimes they wander outside that familiar area, and such an adventure is the subject of this picture book. In 2016, two grizzlies left their Great Bear Rainforest home to swim and island-hop as far as Cormorant Island off the east coast of Vancouver Island. After a week of making themselves at home in Alert Bay, they were live-trapped (doing what bears do ...following a food scent), tranquilized and given a helicopter ride in a net back to their home area. The author/illustrator has presented this account based on the actual event as related by her conservation officer husband and the people of Alert Bay. A list of “Grizzly Bear Facts” and “Hiking and Camping Safety” tips are included on the final pages.

The unusual circumstances provided a not-to-be-missed opportunity for illustration. The author has presented the setting in appealing watercolor paintings that show the townsite of Alert Bay, its harbor and the wild lands that surround it in fine detail. There is minimal text; the illustrations carry the tale. A map is included on both end papers to show the location and route of the bears’ travels.

The Great Grizzlies Go Home is a gentle story that unfolds with no high point of tension but rather with a significant focus on respect for nature. Residents of Alert Bay responded with curiosity, not fear, over this first time event, noting only that with the bears’ arrival, “things were a little different.” They observed the bears calmly while the animals explored and then “sat and watched the sun set.” They took photos. Neither was there any reference to tension as the conservation officers set bear traps and lured the bruins with tempting snacks. Everyone waved goodbye when the bears were lifted off by helicopter to be set free, back where they belonged. What comes across so well is the acceptance of bears as a natural part of life in a human settlement in bear country. The facts and safety tips reinforce this attitude toward a fascinating west coast animal.