A striking collection of 90 photographs depicting the rugged grandeur of the Northwest Coast's Great Bear Rainforest.
Spirit of the Great Bear is an immersive journey through the vast wilderness habitat of the spirit bear, the rare white-furred variant of Kermode bears that has long featured in First Nations oral traditions. While much of Great Bear Rainforest is protected--it is the largest intact coastal temperate rainforest on Earth--today there are as few as 100 of the bears remaining, making it one of the world's rarest animals.
Wildlife photographer and conservationist Jack Plant has spent the last decade exploring the rainforest in search of spirit bears and documenting the natural beauty of this coastal habitat, relying heavily on the guidance and traditional knowledge generously shared by the First Nations communities who have protected the region for thousands of years. Plant was adopted by Hereditary Chief Charlie Mason of Kitasoo/Xai'xais First Nation in the community of Klemtu.
Spirit of the Great Bear features photographic accounts of Plant's wild and memorable encounters with the white bears, as well as with other extraordinary species found in the Great Bear Rainforest, including grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, orcas, and humpback whales.
The book examines the natural and human-caused threats to the rich biodiversity of the Rainforest while highlighting the substantial progress Indigenous leaders and conservationists have made to protect one of the most biodiverse landscapes in the world. It's both a celebration of the spirit bear's resilience and its wilderness home, and an urgent reminder of the need to protect this special and vulnerable ecosystem.
Nicklen, Paul: - Paul Nicklen is a Canadian photographer, filmmaker, and marine biologist who has documented the beauty and plight of our planet for more than thirty years. Known for his work with National Geographic profiling wildlife in the Arctic, he is the co-founder of SeaLegacy, a non-profit conservation and production organization, and the author of several books, including Born to Ice and Bear: Spirit of the Wild. Nicklen has won numerous conservation and photography awards, including the BBC's Wildlife Photographer of the Year and the World Press Photo Award for photojournalism. He is a member of the Order of Canada and, in 2019, became the youngest person inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame. He lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.
Plant, Jack: - Jack Plant is a British wildlife and culture photographer, conservationist, and explorer who has spent the past decade documenting the natural world, with a particular focus on the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia, Canada. He has worked in collaboration with some of the world's leading conservation organizations, including groups such as SeaLegacy, Pacific Wild, Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots, Vital Impacts, and the Spirit Bear Research Foundation. His work blends art and storytelling, capturing humans and animals in a way that is both visually striking and emotionally resonant. Jack's work continues to bridge the gap between art and conservation, revealing the beauty, fragility, and profound human connection to the natural world. He lives in Squamish, BC.
