When two grizzly bears island-hopped across the Johnston Strait to Alert Bay in 2016, the community was transfixed — and afraid. Children were kept inside while conservation officers set traps.
Within a week the bears were captured and relocated back to their territory in the Great Bear Rainforest.
Judy Hilgemann, an artist originally from Port Alice, had firsthand accounts of the situation from her conservation officer husband, and she turned the saga into a children’s story called The Great Grizzlies Go Home.
Hilgemann illustrated the book with watercolour images of Alert Bay and the grizzlies.
The book was released April 18 by Harbour Publishing. Hilgemann had planned to return to Alert Bay for a book launch, but had to cancel due to COVID-19. The book is available for purchase on www.harbourpublishing.com
READ: Grizzly bears near live traps on Cormorant Island.
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