Andrew Charles Russell (August 19, 1941 – May 7, 2018) was a Canadian naturalist known for his study of

grizzly bears The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

Early life

Russell grew up in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

in the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part ...

as the son of hunter, guide, film maker, and naturalist Andy Russell. Charlie and his three brothers learned about the wilderness from their father, assisting him as adventure guides and cameramen. His brothers went to college and became biologists, while Charlie became a rancher.

Career

Russell was fascinated by grizzly bears, trying to overcome their image as savage killers by making his cattle ranch open to grizzlies and leading ecotourists on bear-viewing trips (as opposed to hunting which had previously been the objective of grizzly tours). He tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to convince wildlife officials to treat bears with respect and trust, arguing that it is people's fear of bears and aggressive actions toward them that makes them dangerous. Russell is best known for his ten years of field work in

Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and wes ...

, where he taught local guides how to lead bear-viewing tours. He began to buy orphaned grizzly cubs from zoos, taking them into remote areas of Kamchatka and teaching them to be wild. He has been the subject of two television documentaries: ''Walking with Giants: The Grizzlies of Siberia'' (

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

, 1999) and ''Bear Man of Kamchatka'' (

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, 2006).

Death

He died after complications from surgery at a hospital in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

, on May 7, 2018.

Bibliography

*''Spirit Bear: Encounters with the White Bear of the Western Rainforest'' *''Grizzly Heart: Living Without Fear Among the Brown Bears of Kamchatka'' *''Grizzly Seasons'' *''Learning to Be Wild: Raising Orphan Grizzlies''

References

External links

Charlie Russell's website
1941 births 2018 deaths Canadian naturalists Writers from Alberta People from the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9 {{Canada-scientist-stub