Photographer Captures A Rare Glimpse Of Elusive 'Spirit' Black Bear

An extremely rare type of bear only found in a small area of British Columbia, Canada, was captured by lucky photographer Jenny Stevens. White Kermode bears, also known as spirit bears, are a subspecies of the North American black bear with a rare gene that causes their fur to be white.

Unlike albinos, these bears have pigmentation in their eyes and skin. A single mutant gene that causes this unusual coloration also prevents melanin production. If both parents have this recessive gene, two black Kermode bears can reproduce and have a white Kermode bear. The spirit bear (white kermode) is more likely to mate with another spirit bear, as is the case with black kermode bears. This phenomenon is known as positive assortative mating. Due to the spirit bear's camouflaged appearance in the sunlight, salmons have a hard time avoiding them as compared to black bears. According to recent studies, white bears are comparatively 35% more successful than black kermode bears at catching salmon in daylight.