Kermode bear

Kermode Bear (Ursus americanus Kermodei )

The Kermode or " spirit bear" (Ursus americanus Kermodei ) is a subspecies of the American black bear, which is found only in a small region of the Canadian province of British Columbia.

The subspecies is known that about ten percent of all animals have a white or cream-colored fur. The remaining 90 % of the Kermode as all American black bears a variable dark coat color, which can range from black to reddish brown. The ratio is dark to light on the mainland at about 40 to 100 to one, on Princess Royal Iceland ten to one, and on the neighboring Gribbell Iceland almost three to one. This coloration is due to a genetic mutation, a recessive mutation in the MC1R gene, the white animals are therefore not albinos.

Habitat of these animals are the temperate rainforests. In life and behave Kermode different from any other American black bear.

Kermode play a role in the mythology of Native Americans. According to the mythology of the Tsimshian, the Creator has one of ten black bears white made ​​to remember the time when glaciers covered the land. In their language, the animals Mooksgm'ol ( Spirit Bear ) are called.

Parts of their range are threatened by deforestation and an oil pipeline. As a protection area was established including the Great Bear Rainforest, where there is also an eco-tourism has developed.