John E Marriott

Frank the Tank captured the imaginations of wildlife photographers and bear lovers alike during his brief stint as one of the biggest, toughest grizzly bears in Canada’s only grizzly bear sanctuary, the Khutzeymateen/ K'tzim-a-deen.

Named by John on a photo trip in May 2015, this monstrous male was indeed built like a tank, with the gnarly scars and wicked wounds to prove his battle-worthiness. John’s photographs of Frank the Tank resonated with his large social media audience and led to several of Frank’s images being published nationally and internationally, including in Canadian Wildlife magazine.

This is the second time Susie Cipolla has painted an image of Frank.