I’d like you to meet Boo, a grizzly bear. Boo is well known around the Canadian Rocky Mountain region because he lives at the Kicking Horse Grizzly Bear Refuge and gets lots of visitors. His home consists of a fenced 22-acre piece of natural land (apparently the world’s largest protected grizzly bear habitat) where Boo has lived and wandered freely since 2003. Boo and his sibling were orphaned at only a few months old when their mother was killed by a poacher; sadly Boo’s sibling didn’t survive his first hibernation.
Boo has found a good home here in eastern British Columbia, near the town of Golden. He’s been known to escape during mating season (he digs out under his electrified fence), but he comes back after a few weeks because he likes his home. Grizzly bears tend to be solitary creatures except during the mating season or a mother raising her cubs. Boo seems to like hanging around near the people visiting his habitat so your chances of seeing him and getting decent photos are very good. There’s an elevated platform that lets you watch him and take unobstructed pictures.
The Grizzly Bear Refuge is part of the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort and is open daily during the summer . It provides an great opportunity to observe a grizzly bear up close, while he does whatever he feels like. Access to the refuge involves a ride on the chairlift and a short walk. Admission is charged and depends on age and so on. Best time to visit Boo is early in the morning or late in the afternoon as he is less active during the heat of the day.
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance)
