Author visits library to read from new book
Posted By Marc Zienkiewicz
Posted 2 months ago
A well-known Canadian author visited Lac du Bonnet this week to read from his new book, Grizzlyville, which deals with bears and how people interact with them.
Jake MacDonald entertained a crowd at the Lac du Bonnet Regional Library Nov. 25. MacDonald came to town last year to read from his award-winning collection Houseboat Chronicles, which details his life in the Minaki area, located along the Winnipeg River.
He has also written over 200 feature length articles for periodicals like the Globe and Mail, the Walrus, Maclean's, and Readers Digest.
MacDonald had his first experience with bears when, as a 20-year-old travelling through the wilderness of British Columbia, he lay awake in his tent at night, simultaneously eager and terrified at the prospect of encountering a grizzly. Although he saw no bears on that trip, he has seen plenty since. Part memoir, part natural history, Grizzlyville is MacDonald's meditation on North America's largest predators and on the people who deal with them, sometimes on a daily basis.
One major focus of the book is an Ontario bylaw enforcement officer's characterization of the town's bears as "street people in fur coats."
"It's fascinating to see how different people deal with living in close proximity to these animals," MacDonald said.
More than ever before, bears and human beings are living closer together as climate change, deforestation and community encroachment diminish the animal's territory. In some places, like the mountainside suburbs of Vancouver and the cities of Northern Ontario, bears are almost as common as raccoons. In Churchill, they're a tourist attraction.
Some experts believe that the animals should be left entirely alone; others argue that responsible hunting will best serve both bears and human beings.
"Everyone has a different take on the subject," MacDonald said. "You can meet someone with a lot of bear experience who has one opinion, and then meet someone else with the same amount of experience who has a competely different opinion."
MacDonald also described how no two bears are alike, shattering a common misconception that all bears are dangerous.
"An 18-year-old female who lives among people is going to act much differently than an eight-year-old male who lives way out in the woods of northern British Columbia and has never seen a human before," he said.
MacDonald also answered questions for a group of Lac du Bonnet Centennal School students who are reading his book Juliana and the Medicine Fish.
