What is a Spirit Bear?
Spirit Bears are extremely rare, white-phased forms of the American Black Bear (Ursus americana) – it is thought that between 200 and 300 exist on the planet. The white coat colour is controlled by a recessive gene which, for some unknown reason, occurs in higher frequency on a remote and tough to access roadless portion of the northern coast of British Columbia. On a few islands in this region between 10 and 20 percent of the bears are white Spirit Bears. During our Great Bear Rainforest Explorer tour Spirit Bears are often seen.
