A rare black bear with a white coat known as a “spirit bear” was captured on a trail camera in Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula this month.
The bear, a male, weighs approximately 100 pounds, experts estimate. Officials told MLive.com this week that it is the first time in Michigan’s recorded history a confirmed sighting of a “spirit bear” has been made.
A photo showed the bear staring at the camera. The date on the image was September 6, 2022:
A genetically rare black bear with white fur – often called a “spirit bear” – has been living in the wilds of the…
Posted by MLive.com on Friday, September 16, 2022
“This marks only the fifth time a ‘spirit bear’ has been confirmed outside of British Columbia, which means this Michigan animal is genetically a one-in-a-million bear, according to the nonprofit North American Bear Center in Ely, Minnesota,” the MLive.com article reads.
In 2013, photographer Paul Nicklen spoke about capturing images of a spirit bear in western Canada while it enjoyed a meal of pink salmon it had caught in a stream. Video footage showed the animal up close:
According to bear researcher Lynn Rogers of the Wildlife Research Institute in Minnesota, the recent confirmation was a huge win for wildlife science.
“So, there are a few genes in this area,” he explained. “It’s a double-recessive gene. And if there are fewer of those genes here, it’s going to be rare that you get a double-recessive combination.”
The combination meant the sow and boar both had the gene for their cubs to be born with light-colored fur.
According to the North American Bear Center’s website, it is possible that 100 spirit bears exist:
Most Spirit Bears live on Princess Royal and Gribbell Islands along the rainforest coast of British Columbia. They are considered a subspecies of black bears called Kermode bears (Ursus americanus kermodeii). About 20 percent of the bears on those islands are white; the rest are black. On the mainland, the percentage of white bears drops off drastically with distance from those islands.
Meanwhile, Michigan’s wildlife experts were unable to track down the white bear after it was spotted, due to the busy hunting season.
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