Spirit Bear 1

This is the very rare Spirit Bear - a sub species of the Black bear. The Black bears in this area carry a recessive gene for cream coloured bears, there are approximately 400 of these cream bears - also known as Kermode bears - in the world.

The area of British Columbia that they inhabit is a part of the Great Bear Rainforest and there are efforts to protect it from oil tanker routes and pipelines. The local First Nations who have always revered these bears are very much involved in their conservation.

It rained all day as we landed on an island and were guided to a 'stand' (sort of hide) on one side of a river to wait for bears. After about 3 hours this bear appeared (through the torrential rain) and walked down the opposite side of the river.
What an experience! More pictures of him to come.
Thanks for looking.

Camera:	Canon EOS 650D
Lens:	Canon 70-300 DO IS
Recording media:	RAW (digital)

Title:	Spirit Bear 1
Username:	Hazelmouse
Uploaded:	7 Nov 2012 - 8:20 PM
Tags:	British columbia, Gribbell Island, Spirit bear, Ursus americanus kermodei, Wildlife / nature
VS Mode Rating	100 (50% won) These stats show the percentage of wins and the rating score that your photo has achieved. You can go to the VS Mode by clicking on this icon. Signup to e2 Signup to e2 to see which photo this has won or lost against in the vs mode
Votes:	12