Grizzly with checkered past swims miles to Canadian island – and prompts a row

Residents on British Columbia island fiercely divided over whether to relocate, euthanize or ignore ‘Tex’ the bear

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ost visitors to Texada Island, a 30-mile sliver of land off the west coast of British Columbia, choose one of two main methods of arrival: a provincial ferry service with 10 daily sailings or a 3,000 foot air strip which welcomes the occasional chartered plane.

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

The exhausted young bear, named “Tex” by locals, hauled himself ashore on 25 May, unleashing a fierce row between residents, conservation officers and First Nations over his future – and prompting a broader debate over the relationship between the Canadian province and its wildlife.