Banff National Park’s most famous bear is now the subject of a children’s book. The Boss has been the dominant grizzly in the area for more than a decade, and whether he’s spotted strolling through Banff, eating from fruit trees in town or emerging from the snow in the spring, he gets a lot of attention. “He’s a great subject to write a book about because he’s been around humans so much,” said author Victoria Tudor. Her bear fascination started because her two children love watching the animals on national park wildlife cameras. That sparked many trips and many more sightings. “We are well over 100, maybe closer to 200 bears now,” said Tudor. Those sightings include The Boss. “We come to Banff quite often, so we actually had the privilege of seeing him.” Tudor is originally from Ukraine but now lives in Atlanta. The Boss sighting inspired the author, who worked with an Edmonton publisher and a distributor from Dead Man’s Flats. “It’s important to support local culture, respect nature and creation and learn a little bit about it,” said Dale Youngman with Pagemaster Publishing. “A lot of the tour guides talk a lot about The Boss as well. (He’s) often the first grizzly to wake up in spring and the last to go to sleep in winter, and many people do get to actually see him as well,” said Heather Lohnes with Alpine Book Peddlers. “(He’s) our sort of celebrity bear. It’s fantastic. It’s exactly the sort of book we like to support.” The fictional tale in the book depicts the celebrity bear at famous sites in Banff, and one image seems to have inspired his travels. “I think Boss read my book as well. After (my) book came out, he was spotted in Johnston Canyon,” said Tudor. Hikers along the popular waterfall trail captured videos and photos of the huge grizzly coming down the narrow pathway as people quickly cleared out of the area. The goal of the book is to inspire humans to respect and protect nature and understand the challenges bears face. “They have to learn about coexisting with us as much as we need to keep learning how to be safe around them,” said Tudor. “They’re playing catch-up. We come up with new things; first there’s trains, now self-driving vehicles. It’s not about being aggressive and dominant; it’s about living with confidence, being bear aware and respecting each other’s boundaries.” The Boss is the first Canadian bear featured by the author. She’s also planning a book about bears in Jasper National Park. She wrote two previous books about Alaskan bears. You can find The Little Grizzly Who Walked Like a Boss on shelves in Owl’s Nest Bookstore in Calgary, Café Books in Canmore and The Whyte Museum in Banff.
