Grizzly with checkered past swims miles to Canadian island – and into hot water

Residents on British Columbia island fiercely divided over whether to relocate, euthanize or ignore Tex' the bear

Most visitors to Texada Island, a 30-mile sliver of land off the west coast of British Columbia, choose one of two main methods of arrival: a provincial ferry service with 10 daily sailings or a 3,000ft air strip, which welcomes the occasional chartered plane.

But a four-year-old grizzly bear recently took a far more challenging route, braving strong currents and frigid water to swim nearly three miles across the Malaspina Strait.