Spirit Bear

‘Kermode: Guardian of the Forest’

• A spirit bear is a special kind of black bear that is born with white fur.
• Black bears that are able to have white cubs are called Kermode bears.
• 1 in 10 Kermode bears will be born with white fur.
• In the fall/autumn they eat salmon. In spring and summer they eat plants, berries, mussels and anything else they can find.
• White bears are 30% better at catching salmon than black bears because the salmon can’t see them well from underwater.
• They hibernate in dens in hollows beneath old cedar trees for 3 – 5 months in the winter.
• The mother bear wakes up from hibernation to give birth to 1 – 4 cubs in the den.
• Cubs are born blind and hairless, and spend their first months in the den nursing and sleeping. They leave the den in the spring.
• Cubs stay with their mother for 1 – 1.5 years. The mother drives the cubs away when she’s ready to breed again.
• There are about 200 spirit bears in the world, and they all live in the Great Bear Rainforest. They are rarer than panda bears.
• Spirit bears can live for up to 25 years in the wild.
• Black bears in the Great Bear Rainforest may give birth to white cubs, and white spirit bears may give birth to black cubs.
• They mate between May and July. Like other bears, the female doesn’t become fully pregnant until it’s time to hibernate.
• If a female bear is unable to gain enough weight during the summer and fall, her body will tell her not to proceed with the pregnancy.
• They hibernate in dens in hollows beneath old cedar trees for 3 – 5 months. The mother bear wakes up from hibernation to give birth to 1 – 4 cubs in the den.
• A local native group, the Gitga’at, gave the spirit bear its name, which is ‘Moksgm’ol’ in their language. They believe it is the guardian of the rainforest.
• With only about 200 spirit bears in the world, they are rarer than wild pandas. Spirit bears can live for up to 25 years in the wild.