A 90-minute flight from Vancouver, the Great Bear Rainforest is the largest coastal temperate rainforest left on Earth.
Kim Brown Seely
Hey, you two ready?
Marven gathered his things: a radio, a thermos, extra socks.
Credit:Kim Brown Seely
He pulled on his muck boots.
Lets go find the white bear, then.
We hurried behind him through the dense woods.
Kim Brown Seely
But I had no idea how wild our adventure and misadventures would turn out to be.
Seeing bears is all about waiting, we were learning.
Spirit bears are extremely rare; recent population estimates put their numbers at between 100 and 500.
Kim Brown Seely
By comparison, population estimates for wild pandas are just over 1,800.
We saw a black bear trailed by two cubs approach the river.
We saw a second black bear.
Kim Brown Seely
Marven grabbed my elbow.
All of a sudden, there it was!
He was thickset, probably weighing at least 400 pounds, alabaster-pale.
Kim Brown Seely
He was so close we could hear him huffing slightly as he crossed a enter slow motion.
Here, read about the best ways to experience the magnificent Great Bear Rainforest.
Local First Nations guides share knowledge of their traditional territory and the wildlife that calls it home.
Also available on audiobook, narrated by the author.
