Calgary artist's tribute to famous white grizzly bear to help support wildlife conservation

Nearly two months after the highway death of a white grizzly affectionately known as Nakoda, a Calgary artist is commemorating the iconic bear and seeking to support wildlife conservation efforts in the process.

The portrait, entitled Lost, But Not Forgotten, is a tribute to the beloved female grizzly, who died in June after being struck by a vehicle on the Trans-Canada. Just 12 hours earlier, Nakoda's two cubs were also killed by a vehicle on that highway in Yoho National Park.

"My husband and I were in Europe teaching art when the news of Nakoda came out and we were just devastated from across the world," said Terri Heinrichs, the artist behind the piece. 

But the portrait is about more than just Nakoda. Heinrichs said she saw an opportunity to contribute to the broader discussion about the importance of wildlife conservation.

"I wanted to create a piece in memoriam so that she would be remembered and also so that I could give back in a small way," she said.

Heinrichs exhibited the piece this past weekend, and plans to donate some of the proceeds from its sale to the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC).

"These animals, of course, it was their home before it was our home and they need that massive amount of space to be able to live their beautiful lives," Heinrichs said. "So giving back to an organization that has this as their focus was important."

Donations are key

As a non-profit organization, donations play a critical role in enabling the NCC to achieve its land stewardship goals, said Sean Feagan, the media and communications manager for the organization in Alberta.

"I think it's something that's great about NCC is that we're supported by some of the largest companies in Canada, but we're also supported by individuals," Feagan said.

Feagan said the organization works to preserve resilient landscapes while increasing connectivity. This means protecting and managing vast habitats to ensure wildlife like grizzly bears have enough space to move without human threats, including busy highways. 

"The more connected the habitat is, that helps ensure that the bear can access those different resources, and try to stay away from these sources of mortality," he said. 

According to the NCC website, the conservancy has helped protect over 15 million hectares of land across Canada in the last 62 years.

According to the Alberta Wilderness Association, a 2021 census found that the province's grizzly bear population was between 856 and 973 bears. 

Grizzly bears don't start reproducing until they're four to six years old, which limits their population growth, said Kim Titchener, founder of Bear Safety & More. Losing female bears like Nakoda intensifies the problem.

"It is a tough thing when we lose a female bear that's producing cubs," Titchener said. "It's a serious impact on the population."  

A recent Alberta ministerial order allowing the hunting of certain grizzly bears involved in human-bear conflicts also has the potential to hurt population numbers — making conservation all the more important, Titchener said.

"It really speaks to the need for us to be doing more education, more wildlife management, spending dollars on having wildlife conflict specialists throughout the province assisting these communities, not handing out tax to go shoot and kill a bear," she said.

Social media star

Nakoda became famous not only for her rare white coat, but also her roadside antics, frequently climbing fences and lingering near roadways.

Because of this, Parks Canada monitored her closely, relocating her further within Yoho National Park in 2022 and putting up fences to keep her away from roads.

Despite their efforts, Nakoda still roamed close to human areas. Experts and advocates said her death and that of her cubs were signs more needed to be done to protect wildlife. 

Titchener said that while she never had the opportunity to interact directly with Nakoda, she has encountered other bears who died similarly.

"I saw firsthand what it's like for these animals to live in an environment with a major highway, a railway, millions of visitors a year — it's a lot of pressure," she said.

Heinrichs said she wanted the painting to have a "moody" feel, conveying not only the loss of Nakoda but of her cubs, too. 

"The part that really got me most emotional was when she went back and she was looking for her babies," Heinrichs said, referring to speculation that Nakoda was lingering around the same area where her cubs had been killed. 

"That was just such a sad, poignant moment, and so I wanted to convey the idea that she's here, but she's looking."

Feagan said conservation isn't just about collecting money and funding new projects, and that art can serve a greater purpose by starting conversations about preservation.

"If you look at the history of conservation in Canada, it's tied closely to art," he said. "Just look at the Group of Seven and the work that they did in order to showcase the beauty and diversity of Canada."

Titchener agrees and adds art can be a useful tool in increasing awareness about conservation by fostering connections to wildlife.

"Art is a great way for someone to express and help large scale numbers of people understand and connect with an animal," she said. 

"Some people didn't get to experience actually seeing Nakoda on the landscape, but this gives them that opportunity to capture that essence of who that bear actually was."