The Rare 'Spirit Bear'

Take a good look, because it's likely you'll never see one for yourself. The Kermode Bear is a rare offshoot of the American Black Bear living in the central coast of British Columbia, and just 1/10 of them have a recessive gene that gives them their white color. They're not related to Polar Bears nor are they albino.

This one was photographed recently by wildlife photographer Steve Kozlowski:

"I set out to travel to the last area where a small population of spirit bears is known to exist near Princess Royal Island on the British Columbia coastline. I emerged from my tent and was confronted with a spirit bear. The bear was startled and it charged at me over a log, its hair up, ears back, snapping its jaws. I slowly backed away from the bear and it eventually left. I built a camera blind and kept hidden so that the bear became more comfortable with me as I kept a safe distance. To observe the bear in the wild was a pleasure."

A couple clips on the 'spirit bear', AFTER THE JUMP...

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