A truly bear-able evening
By Nelson Daily Staff
On Thursday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Slocan Park Hall, Slocan Valley Recreation is presenting The Bear Necessities — an evening with the ‘Bear Lady,’ Evelyn Kirkaldy.
Kirkaldy offers a peek into the intimate life of bears and their behaviour through photographs and stories that are guaranteed to amaze, amuse and educate.
She has traveled through bear country from Alaska through various destinations along the BC coast, northeast to Churchill, Manitoba and down to a research facility in Minnesota.
Hear about how a grizzly cub came to be known as Bouncer and about building an igloo in polar bear country. How she spent 10 days in a tree house surrounded by 16 wild grizzly bears, observing the antics and social interactions of these amazing and highly intelligent creatures.
As an added treat, Kirkaldy has included some of the artwork that was inspired by her adventures, her passion for bears and the natural world.
“With my paintings I try to capture the essence of the landscape, the feeling of living in nature. A forest is not just trees, it’s a metropolis teeming with wildlife,” she said.
Tips on bear safety in Kootenay bear country will be emphasized and you are encouraged to bring questions.
Kirkaldy is the lower valley coordinator for the Slocan Valley Bear Smart Program and an advisor for the Get Bear Smart Society, BC’s pilot program for Human/Bear conflict management (www.bearsmart.com).
Admission by donation will benefit the Kootenay Animal Assistance Program (homes4animals.com). If planning to attend, please contact Slocan Valley Recreation at 250-226-0008.
