As you can see one of our new cameras is a bear. This is a Kermode Bear and is named after Francis Kermodei, former director of the Royal B.C. Museum. Local Folks often call it a White Bear or Ghost Bear. Spirit Bear is a more recent name for the White Bear. This is appropriate for a bear that is known for it’s elusive, ghostly yet sweet nature.
This Bear is named Apollo by a pair of B.C. hikers who found his den last year and are responsible for the live feed in his den. He looks comfy and cozy in his winter home, for now anyway. Apollo watchers should be ready though, as the warm weather continues in British Columbia, he may soon be considering his spring stretch.
This camera is brought to you by The Hancock Wildlife Foundation and for more information on him and Spirit Bears in general log onto www.bcspiritbear.com. BCSpiritBear.com is a team of Spirit Bear lovers, who trek about the Great Bear Rainforest searching for opportunities to film, photograph and map the rare and precious White Kermode Spirit Bear. The Great Bear Rainforest is in the Pacific Northwest of British Columbia and is a protected area for these rare bears. Check out the first ever map of Spirit Bear Sightings in the Great Bear Rainforest. http://bcspiritbear.com/site-map/spirit-bear-sighting-map/
This rare White Bear is actually a Black Bear like Lily! Scientists are actively studying this rare genetic trait that is possibly due to a recessive gene, or could be due to a result of a concentration of gene in a given area. The Spirit Bear is not an albino.
Scientists estimate there are 1,200 black and white Kermode bears in the coast area that stretches from around the northern tip of Vancouver Island northwards to the Alaska panhandle. On Gribbell Island, up to 30 per cent of the bears can be white while on the larger Princess Royal Island, about 10 per cent have the white coat.
