Stunning Photos Capture Rare White Spirit Bear In Action

Kermode bears, also known as spirit bears, are incredibly elusive. They live only in one section of British Columbia’s central coast, and a new study indicates the gene that turns their fur white is even rarer than previously thought. We’ll talk to two researchers from the study about the quest to protect and preserve the Great Bear Rainforest.

Spirit bears are also known as Kermode bears, a subspecies of the American black bear. They stand out for their white fur, which is due not to albinism but to an exceptional variation in their melanin production gene, making them white. While Rose spotted one in British Columbia, spirit bears are most likely to be seen on the Gribbell, Princess Royal or Roderick islands. There, the Daily Mail reports, one in 10 bears are spirit bears.