The Spirit Bear aka Ghost Bear: The Other White Bear
Yes, there is another white bear. It's not a polar bear but in fact it is a rare subspecies of the Black Bear.
The beautiful Spirit Bear aka Ghost Bear was named after Frank Kermode the former director of the Royal B.C. Museum, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Read on to discover the myth and the mystery behind these beautiful white bears. You'll find photos, facts, videos and informational links and information on the efforts being made to save these magnificent bears.
Scientific classification of the Kermode Bear
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus: Ursus
Species: U. americanus
Subspecies: U. a. kermodei
Trinomial name
Ursus americanus kermodei
Hornaday, 1905
From Wikipedia
Spirit Bear
Kermode Bear or Ursus Americanus Kermodei
Both the white and black bears that are found on Canada's west coast make up this rare species. The white bear is also known as Spirit bear or Ghost bear.Scientists don't know very much about the origins of this unique bear. No one yet has determine the true originations of the Kermode bear. It is thought by many scientists to have developed from a separate strain of coastal black bear that was cut off from populations of black bear inland.
It is still under speculation about why the Kermode bear, which has a unique recessive gene never found in any other mammal, is found only in these bears in a small area of the coast of Canada.
Kermit Kitland of the University of British Columbia studies the Kermode bears. The study,funded by Forest Renewal, British Columbia was to locate the origins of the Kermode's white gene and to determine if "a change in a single base pair of a recessive gene" stops the production of the pigments that make the bear's black and in turn produces a cream white cub.
Ritland found where the Kermode bears with the "white gene" appears most often: the large islands off the coastal mainland.
In the report, Ritland, also suggests that to maintain the healthy gene pool on these islands, that there need be a limited interaction with the inland black bears. That if a large influx of black bears were migrated or were moved from inland, the Kermode bear gene plool would become severely diluted thus ending the Kermode bear.
Kitasoo legend says...
Raven, the Creator, went among the bears and turned every tenth bear white to serve as a reminder of a time when the Earth's great glaciers covered the landscape.
Where Can You find Kermode Bears?
Kermode Bear Range
Spirit Bear Habitat
where do spirit bears or kermode bears live?
Kermode bears live on the Pacific Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Their range includes Prince Royal Island, Princess Royal, Pooley, Gribbell and Prince Rupert Island. The populations where the gene appears most often is Princess Royal, Pooley, and Gribbell. 1 out of every 10 bears on these islands are white.The bears live in the islands rainforest known as the Great Bear Rainforest which is one of the is the largest intact, unspoiled, coastal temperate rainforest left in the world.
Because the habitat for the Kermode bear was under threat from logging, in 2006 a series of conservancies stretching 250 miles along the coast of the Island were established. This protected area is twice the size of Yellowstone National Park. The area is home to not only the Spirit Bear but also to grizzly bears, cougars, wolves, and salmon.
On January 21, 2007, the Canadian government pledged to spend US$26m to protect this rainforest. Along with the pledge from British Columbia and donations, total funding for the reserve is $120 million.
Physical Characterics of the Kermode Bear
what do Kermode Bears look like?
Kermodes come in a variety of colors ranging from reddish, gray, yellow, orange. About 1 out of 10 are cream/white, which are the ones called Spirit or Ghost bears.Due to a rare recessive gene, these bears who have white fur are not albino. Their eyes and nose are both brown not white as an albino would be. A white bear cub is the offspring of a male and female bear, each carrying that special gene.
They have 5 claws like all other bears and they are non-retractable.
Where a cub is born at about 1/2 pound, an adult can weigh up to 300 pounds.
In the Tsimshian language, the Spirit Bears are known as Moksgm'ol.
Birth Facts of the Kermode
How often Kermode Bears mate
Like the Black Bear, Spirit bears weigh about 1/2 pound when they are born. They give birth to 1 to 4 cubs (usually 2) in the Spring. They stay with their mothers for 2 years learning survival skills from her. The bears den in the hollows of old-growth trees.In this photo, the Kermode bear has 2 black cubs.
What Kermode Bears Eat
What do kermode bears eat?
The main food source for the Kermode bears is salmon which makes up 95% of their food. the other 5% is made up of plants, fruits, nuts and insects.Many of the Kermode bears have a yellowish tinge to their fur. This is thought to be the result of their high salmon diet.
Spirit Bear Video
Kermode Bears -- Black mom and white cub
I wondered it they could these be distance cousins? However, I just found one of the pictures on a website that said they were taken in Terrance, British Columbia. This makes much more sense!
PHOTO UPDATE: Brian posted a comment with the story behind these photos. He said, "The black bear with white cub photo was taken in 2004, but from Manitoba not from BC or WI. There is an article in the International Bear News, 2004, vol 13 #4, a members newsletter for the International Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA). To summarize, the sow and white cub were first seen in June 2004 feeding on roadside garbage ini land between lake Winnipegosis and Cedar Lake, Manitoba. Photos were published, media hailed a 'rare albino' (though told it was likely not). The area became popular, with people bringing food to attract the bear, and on July 11 the mother was struck and killed by a vehicle.
"The cub was accepted by Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo. The Chemawawin Cree Nation named it Maskwa (Cree for bear). Tests were run to determine if the cub had the same double-recessive coloration gene that make Kermode bears white, but I don't know the results of that test."
Thanks Brian!
Spirit Bears in City of Terrace, British Columbia
In the City of Terrace, a contest was held for local artists to use their artistic skills to decorate a Spirit Bear statue.The spirit Berar statues can be found throughout Terrace and the local area. At the right is a photo or 1 and below are photos of 2 more. To see more information and other photos of the finished bears, click Spirit Bears in Terrace
Spirit Bear Mother in City of Terrace
Luna's Bear in City of Terrace
This lens supports 3 non-profits
If you purchase something from this lens, a portion of the royalties go to:
Heifer International
Working with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth.
NWF's Alaska Natural Resource Center
Saving Alaska's wildlife and environment for future generations.
Wildlife SOS
Saving India's sloth bears and other animals and environment while changing people's lives and the culture.
Spirit Bear - The Movie
Spirit Bear
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/18/2009)
A warm and inspiring movie about how 1 person can make a difference in saving a species - the Kermode or Spirit Bear. a must see to see these bear live.
Spirit Bear Book - A must have for the bear lover
Spirit Bear: Encounters with the White Bear of the Western Rainforest
Amazon Price: $17.21 (as of 12/18/2009)
This is an amazing book. The author spent a year on Prince Royal Island with the Turners who were filming the bears. His book is the first-hand account of this year of living with these beautiful bears.
More Books about the Spriit Bear for your Reading Pleasure
Organizations working to save the Kermode Bear
- SBYC : Spirit Bear Youth Coalition
- Dr. Jane Goodall cites the campaign to save the spirit bear as one of her reasons for hope - and indeed the campaign offers many reasons to believe that the spirit bear will soon be saved.
- Bear Matters BC
- Bears Matter! Therefore, our mission at Bear Matters BC is to conserve all species of wild bear populations. How? By providing a forum to foster a better understanding of bear behaviour and the necessity to preserve bear habitat. Also by encouraging and sharing new research in the field of bear conservation.
- the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada
- Dr. Jane Goodall will receive the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) from the University of Haifa at a tribute dinner on November 16, 2008 in Toront
- Conservation Voters of BC
- Conservation Voters of BC works on making BC politicians accountable to the strong environmental values of the BC public.
- SaveTheGreatBear.org
- Helping to protect the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia, Canada.
Places to find more info on Kermode Bears
Photos of Spirit bears
- Kermode Bear Photos | Ursus americanus kermodei | SeaPics.com
- Pictures of Kermode bears, the Spirit Bear or Ghost Bear famous for its white coat
- In pictures: The Spirit Bear, the rare 'blonde' black bear of Canada's western coast
- It may look like a polar bear that has ventured too far south - but these once-in-a-lifetime photographs are of the extremely rare Spirit Bear.
Spirit Bear with Cubs - Courtesy of www.bearmatters.com
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Member of Save Our Bears (SOB) Group
Save Our Bears is a group of lenses devoted to help change the plight all of the 8 bear species through awareness and fund raising.The lenses show the wonderful nature of bears and many will, at the same time, shine a spotlight on the dangers bears face including: trophy hunters, gall bladder and bile farming, pollution, bear baiting, global warming, and habitat destruction.
You'll also find fun lenses on great polar bear movies, books, teddy bears, even cartoon and toy bears.
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Here's my favorite link:
Spirit Bear courtesy of Wikipedia
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Reply
- jaime jaime Nov 12, 2009 @ 12:15 pm
- spirit bears r a rare subspecies of the american black bear, which needs to be protected and not hunted
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- wilddove6 wilddove6 Nov 7, 2009 @ 2:24 am
- Thank you for a beautiful look at a magnificent bear!
BC is my home territory
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- Pukeko Pukeko Oct 22, 2009 @ 10:52 pm
- Beautiful lens. Blessed by a squidoo angel.
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- JaguarJulie JaguarJulie Oct 16, 2009 @ 7:56 am
- Blessings to YOU my dear! Squid Angel blessed today.
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- Butch-1 Butch-1 May 23, 2009 @ 12:11 pm
- Hi this is Butch and I have a short video of a kermode Bear. My family got it last summer on the way to Terrace from Smithers.I was going to show it on a lens. Then I found this lens and if you contact me I can let you use it .Bruce Mackay
mackaybruce@hotmail.com
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This is the feed from my Polar Bear News blog. To see the whole blog click PolarBearNews.com . You can get my blog via email or RSS feed by going to the blog itself. To see a particular article, press on the headline below. I cover news related to Polar Bears and special reports on all 8 bear species. The pictures and other graphics don't show up here so visit the site to see them.
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I'm known as Cat Woman off-line because I share my home with a bunch of cats; I rescue and foster cats (ferals, FIV positive, abandoned); I work with a local animal non-profit; and I sculpt big cats. Online, I'm known as Cat Woman because of my blog,...
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A woman has to know her limitations. Ha. Wouldn't that be nice? This lens is my attempt at explaining just who I am and what I'm up to and maybe justify to myself why I'm so darn busy - LOL. It's a Lensography of my Squidoo BEAR lenses and will incl...
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