Mike Tomkies

Mike Tomkies (25 May 1928 – 6 October 2016),[1] known as The Wilderness Man, was a British author covering subjects such as natural history, biography and fiction,[2] a naturalist and filmmaker who became famous due to his acclaimed accounts of living in the wildest and most remote parts of Canada, Scotland and Spain.

Born in 1928 in West Bridgford, Notts, Mike Tomkies grew up with his family in Whitley Bay near Newcastle upon Tyne, later moving south to Worthing and then Henfield near Brighton.

He served with the Coldstream Guards in the Middle East and at Buckingham Palace, and moved on to become a successful Fleet Street journalist, later freelancing in Paris, Madrid and Rome before being assigned as a Hollywood columnist until the age of 38 when he decided to quit journalism and emigrated to the Canadian wilds.

This was where he began his wildlife studies tracking grizzly bears, cougars, caribou, bald eagles and killer whales, which over three years developed into the book Alone in the Wilderness, which was published by Reader's Digest and became a critically acclaimed best seller.

Running short on funds, Tomkies returned to writing in Hollywood, accompanied by Booto, a stray wild dog who had adopted him in Canada and who enjoyed the attention of stars such as Cary Grant, Omar Sharif and Peter Finch during interviews.

[citation needed] He returned briefly to Canada and hired native American guide, Clayton Mack, and they went on dangerous treks deep in grizzly country, saw 21 bears in three days and were lucky to escape with their lives.

He then spent five years in mountain ranges throughout Spain making two films and writing a book about species including brown bear, lynx, wolf, wild boar, vultures and eagles.