Coming from Bern, Switzerland (home of the world famous Bear Pit), bears, and especially Grizzly Bears, have always played an important role in my life. When I immigrated to the Yukon and ran a tourism business, the discussions around bears were the number one topic for the guests. Everybody wanted to see a bear. A Grizzly Bear would be the best. Not much has changed since then. Tourists still flock to the Yukon to see Grizzly Bears. But for how long?

A Grizzly Bear has changed my life in the most traumatic way. The young life of my wife has been taken by a Grizzly. And even if this sounds totally paradox, I don’t hate these animals. My late wife loved the Grizzlies very much. So to honour the closing circles of life and death I am committed  to protect and preserve the Grizzly Bears in the Yukon.

My name is Matthias Liniger and I am a member of the board of the Grizzly Bear Protection Yukon Society.