Texada residents “devastated”: Tex the grizzly killed
Tex the grizzly bear sniffing grass on Texada. Photo: TEX - The Texada Island Grizzly Bear Facebook page.
“This is a community that hasn't had any predators for many, many, many years, and it's a community completely unprepared for a predator such as a grizzly bear. With all the attractants everywhere,” said Texada local Katrin Glenn-Bittner.
On July 15th at 11:42 a.m. the Conservation Officer Service (COS) posted to social media that the grizzly bear who had taken up residence on Texada Island was found shot dead. The results of the necropsy have yet to be shared, and the identity of the shooter has not been made public.
The bear, nicknamed Tex by local resident and advocate Katrin Glenn-Bittner, had been on the island since late May.
“On May 25th, Tex has been– has swam over from Powell River to Texada Island, and I knew instantly,” Glenn-Bittner said. “At first I was excited, and then I was like, in the same second I was, I knew this was not gonna be good due to the community.”
Glenn-Bittner said that the lack of awareness on the island meant many attractants, things that would draw the bear, were left out. Anything from bird feeders, to unsecured garbage, to unlocked vehicles. She says that even livestock on the island is not protected the way it is in areas that regularly cohabitate with predators like grizzly bears.
“I basically started being a voice for Tex, when as soon as I heard there was a kill order on him, [I became] his voice. On June 1st, [I] opened up a Facebook page called ‘Save Tex, the Texada Island Grizzly Bear.’ And I spoke about myself, I spoke about the community, [I] tried to educate the people about bears. I have tried to educate people about, around their property– there was just zero awareness on Texada Island of coexistence with a grizzly bear.”
Glenn-Bittner said that bears hold a special place in her family. Her brother, Dr. David Bittner is a biologist, bear researcher, photographer and speaker. Glenn-Bittner spent several weeks with her brother in Alaska observing a dense population of brown bears.
She said she also learned to coexist with bears while working with livestock on farms and ranches in B.C.
“I've really got to see bears. Their behavior, everything, the way they're misunderstood, the way they're– everything gets misinterpreted and they are so forgiv[ing]. They are so, they're the most amazing teachers and we can learn so much from them if we just want to.”
Glenn-Bittner shared what the reaction was when the community learned of the death.
“When we found out of the death of Tex, the community [was] absolutely devastated. It broke many, many people's hearts. And this was inevitable, a hundred percent. This was absolutely– this should have never come to this, and the ministry has failed us and [has] failed Tex the most.”
Glenn-Bittner detailed how she learned of what happened to Tex earlier this week, first with a tip from a friend that the bear had been injured on Monday.
“On Monday I received a phone call from a friend of mine that was out in the area on Texada Island, and she [had] been stopped by the RCMP to make her aware that there [was] a wounded grizzly bear, and the wound was caused by a gunshot, and they didn't know where he was. And to make her aware. She phoned me. I phoned the RCMP right away, and they [made] a statement with me and they confirmed with me that the bear [had] been shot at, he [was] wounded, they couldn't confirm the seriousness of the wound, and we made it public on social media,” Glenn-Bittner explained.
“Several hours or maybe four or five hours after that, a confession [was] made by the shooter that has destroyed Tex on Sunday evening, with six gunshots, that tried to hide the body for 24 hours. And that it got confessed and he needs to be held accountable now. This was totally illegal. This was, Tex has always been a respectful bear, very respectful bear. For the people that were afraid of Tex, just his presence [frightened] them. So most, literally, most people that have seen Tex on Texada Island, misinterpreted the encounters with him and did not get to see the true, beautiful, gentle bear he was,” she said.
Glenn-Bittner explained that she is confident in calling Tex a gentle bear, as she feels none of the encounters could be described as aggressive, or they would have ended completely differently.
There was only one report of a livestock encounter which the Conservation Officer Service investigated and released the following statement: “on June 10 and 11, 2025, on Texada Island, Conservation Officers responded to a complaint of a grizzly bear chasing livestock. The COS investigation determined no livestock were attacked and conflict prevention advice was provided to residents.”
Glenn-Bittner said that the government is in part responsible for the death of the bear due to a failure to act.
“The fear-based narrative spread from people here, including the government through COS, was intense. It was pure hatred against these animals, and it was truly split; 30% of Texada residents wanted this bear destroyed, and lots of people wanted to see him Translocated. We had, since the 9th of June, we had everything organized for Tex. This is over a month as of right now, that we had a home that has been greatly offered from Chief John Powell from the Mamalilikulla territory. That he would like to give Tex a home. And the fundings were there, everything was organized, and there has been silence. They– it– the government, the ministries, would not approve this plan for a translocation that was basically set up from bear biologists– leader bear biologists and Chief John Powell with the First Nation,” she said.
The 30% statistic mentioned comes from an informal survey held on an online messaging board popular among Texada residents.
Communication from the COS prior to the death of the grizzly detailed two previous relocation attempts of this same bear twice in September of 2024 - first from Gibsons, then from Sechelt. The statement declared in no uncertain terms, “in this case, it would not be in the interest of public safety to relocate the bear a third time.”
Despite this public statement, it seems plans were taking shape behind the scenes to move the bear after all.
On Tuesday, following the COS post confirming the death of the bear, a statement was released by Randene Neill, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, and MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast.
The statement included the following: “the timing is especially unfortunate as we were actively working with First Nations on a new plan to attempt to capture and translocate the grizzly bear from Texada Island to a remote area up the Coast, far away from communities. This was to be done in partnership with First Nations, who had come forward and requested this approach.”
A statement from the Tla’amin Nation on Wednesday supports the claim that plans were in place to relocate the bear: “a coordinated relocation effort between the Shíshálh, Tla’amin, and Homalco First Nations was already underway when Tex was illegally shot, maimed, and killed. The plan, which had been approved by conservation officials, involved setting traps to safely move Tex to a remote area at the head of Bute Inlet. We are deeply saddened by this outcome. Tex’s life mattered, and our Nations had come together in a good way to find a peaceful solution.”
The statement also shared that the Tla’amin Nation took custody of the remains and held a ceremony on Tuesday to honour the spirit of the grizzly bear.
Whether knowledge of the secret relocation plan would have stopped the shooter from taking Tex’s life is unknown. Glenn-Bittner said this was not the first attempt on the bear’s life.
“There was, like I said, 30% [of] people that wanted him dead, but there [were] also the people that just wanted to be heroes. He [was] shot at last Monday, a week ago: missed. He has been chased with two ATVs where we've seen the videos afterwards with him panting, obviously in distress. And with the shooting that destroyed him was, knowing his behavior and no interest in livestock, this was just pure– this was not out of self defense, a hundred percent. And it was not– [the shooter] was known to be wanting to shoot the bear,” she said.
Glenn-Bittner said that the community needs to learn to adapt, so that the same scenario is not repeated again.
“We need to be proactive on Texada now. More so than ever, even with Tex being gone now, we cannot stop [being] proactive to make this island that we can welcome a bear and be ready for him, and that it will not repeat itself again because this is, it was unacceptable what happened with Tex,” she said.
Glenn-Bittner said that she and her brother Dr. David Bittner, as well as wildlife advocate Ellie Lamb, will be working further to educate the community, and alleviate the fear of bears.
“Especially our youth, that we teach them just like we taught them how to cross a road safely, how to be with wildlife. It's respectful living in nature, respectful with yourself, being respectful to your surroundings,” she said.
Glenn-Bittner said it is time for everyone to pause and open their eyes, to observe a different perspective on wildlife and learn from animals without fear.
“Everybody seems to wanna live in nature here, but nobody seems to wanna live with nature. I will not stop being a voice for bears. [They] will come again to Texada Island, and we will be prepared and we're not gonna make the same mistake, and I will be their voice,” Glenn-Bittner said.
Anyone with information regarding the bear’s death can call the Report All Poachers and Polluters hotline at 1-877-952-7277.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.