These beauties hail from my part of the world — the Central and North Coast regions of British Columbia, Canada.
They walk through the moist, moss-covered terrane of the Great Bear Rainforest, a 6.4 million hectare stretch of ecosystem on the very far west coast of Canada, feasting on Pacific salmon, berries, nuts, roots and seeds. They'll eat insects, fawns and carrion in a pinch but salmon is by far their favourite snack.
Spirit Bears are the official provincial mammal of British Columbia and symbol of Terrace, British Columbia. And they are rare. Their population numbers around 400 individuals. About one in ten black bears are pale and the spirit bear gene is recessive, meaning both parents must carry the gene for a white cub to be produced.
The main dangers to Spirit Bears are much larger grizzlies who stake out and chase them off the prime areas of salmon stocks. Humans are the next largest threat. We cut down the cedar trees that they use for hibernation and birthing of their cubs. And, charmingly, the government of British Columbia allows the hunting of grizzly and black bears in the Great Bear Rainforest. Yes, really. So while it is illegal to kill a spirit bear, hunters may shoot a black bear that carries the crucial gene.
Interested in learning more — and how you can help to protect British Columbia's wildlife? Read about the stewardship of the Great Bear Rainforest by the Kitasoo/Xai’ais First Nation and folk like Christina Service, a wildlife biologist working with them. Get involved. Use your voice for those who have lost theirs.
