Island is divided after grizzly bear swims into hot water

Most visitors to Texada Island, a 50km sliver of land off the west coast of British Columbia, choose one of two methods of arrival: a provincial ferry service with 10 daily sailings or a 900-metre air strip that welcomes the occasional chartered plane.

- By Leyland Cecco TORONTO

But a four-year-old grizzly bear recently took a far more challenging route, braving strong currents and frigid water to swim nearly 5km across the Malaspina Strait.

The exhausted young bear, named “Tex” by locals, hauled himself ashore on 25 May, unleashing a fierce dispute between residents, conservation officers and First Nations over his future.

Before his odyssey, the bear was known to conservation officers on the mainland, who had twice been forced to relocate him to avoid conflicts with human residents. On both occasions, he returned to urban areas within weeks.

Despite his chequered past, provincial officials said in a statement that there is no “kill order” on Tex. But they added: “If further behaviour by the grizzly bear occurs that threatens public safety, Conservation Officers will respond to those situations.”

Nicholas Scapillati, head of the Grizzly Bear Foundation, said that such behaviour is to be expected for a young male bear.

"He's curious. He's a young male out of hibernation who was likely pushed off out of his home range by his mom and is now looking for mates in a different genetic pool," Scapillati said.

But Tex’s presence has sharply divided residents, unaccustomed to apex predators on their bucolic island.