Spirit Bears of North America

By Lhara Ghowry Best Friends Network Volunteer

White, big and fluffy. All the essential ingredients that make a polar bear. Except this bear isn’t a polar bear. It’s a type of American Black Bear.

Known as the Spirit Bear or Kermode Bear, these animals are extremely rare. They live in the forests of British Columbia, and despite their appearance, they are not albinos. Their white fur can be blonde in colour, and some have orange or yellow coloration on their backs. It is thought that about 1/10th of Kermode bears are white/blonde in colour, with the rest being pure black in colour. A reason for their unusual colour may be due to inheritance of a single gene responsible for hair colour, although further research is needed to confirm this.

Even though the colour of their fur may suggest they are easy to spot amongst the wilderness, they are actually very elusive. Many wildlife photographers can only dream of ever encountering the bear, but Steve Kozlowski succeeded in doing so.

Travelling near the Princess Royal Island of the British Columbia coastline, 39-year-old Steve camped there hoping to catch a glimpse of the bear, where small populations are thought to exist. Over a period of five days, Steve only managed to catch fleeting glimpses of them, but on the fifth day, he ran into luck, and almost ran out of it too.

Emerging from his tent, he was confronted by a Spirit Bear. Startled, the bear charged for him, snapping its jaws, but Steve slowly backed away and the animal retreated. He was able to photograph the bear by building a camera that he kept hidden. The bears (a white Spirit Bear mother and its black bear cub) grew comfortable with Steve, and this ensured his safety as he captured them on camera.

Steve’s experience is one that not many will ever encounter themselves, and no doubt he will never forget about it. And though the animal is extremely hard to encounter, they are at risk of becoming even rarer. Their habitat is the rainforests, but much of it has either been logged or is in danger of being logged. Places such as Princess Royal, Gribbell, Roderick and Pooley have already been diminished, and it is predicted that only a quarter of their habitat remains.

To read the full story of Steve Kozlowski’s adventure please
click here

[b] How You Can Help [b]

To find out more about the Spirit Bears and how you can help please follow the links below:
Spirit Bears
Spirit Bear

Photo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spiritbear.jpg

Posted by Barbara Silverman