Kirkus Reviews QR Code
THE GREAT BEAR SEA by Ian McAllister

THE GREAT BEAR SEA

Exploring the Marine Life of a Pacific Paradise

by Ian McAllister ; Nicholas Read ; photographed by Ian McAllister

Pub Date: Sept. 1st, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4598-0019-9
Publisher: Orca

“[W]ithout a Great Bear Sea to feed and nurture it, there would be no Great Bear Rainforest.”

Third in a series of explorations of the coastal wilderness where the author/photographer lives and works in British Columbia, this title focuses on the creatures of the water surrounding and supporting that temperate rain forest. Chapter by chapter, the authors build up the web of life in this area, from microscopic plankton to the orcas they call “wolves of the sea.” Spawning salmon aren’t only food for wolves and bears, their carcasses decompose on the forest floor and nourish the trees. In the shallow waters of the intertidal zone, large animals (and humans) find shellfish and more. Sea otters clown in the kelp beds; seals and sea lions dine on the fish. Dolphins and porpoises dance offshore, and whales feed there in the warmer seasons. Every spread includes at least one of McAllister’s striking photographs. Sidebars called “Maritime Morsels” add explanations that supplement the lengthy, informative text. Chapters are headed with a stylized salmon image by Martin Campbell, a local Heiltsuk artist.

As much an invitation to readers to visit this unspoiled area as a description of its wonders, this is a commendable complement to The Sea Wolves and The Salmon Bears (both 2010).

(bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 9-14)