Seeing a spirit bear has got to be a surreal experience, since these animals are one of the rarest in the world. A group of travelers with Natural Habitat Adventures saw a spirit bear in the wilds of British Columbia, Canada, and the company shared a beautiful video of the special moment.
Dana Cama captured the footage, which Natural Habitat Adventures shared on Instagram earlier today. Also called the Kermode bear, a spirit bear is really an American black bear born with leucism. Leucism is a genetic condition that results in reduced pigmentation of an animal’s skin, feathers, or fur. This is different from albinism, which results in a complete lack of pigment.
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“A rare spirit bear sighting on our Great Bear Rainforest Expedition by Nat Hab Manager of Social & Expedition Content @danacama!” wrote Natural Habitat Adventures in its Instagram post. “The Kermode (spirit) bear is one of the rarest animals on Earth. These striking bears are actually a subspecies of the American black bear, born with white or cream-colored fur due to a rare recessive gene. Both parents must carry the gene for a cub to be born with this creamy coat. Found almost exclusively in the coastal rainforests of British Columbia, the spirit bear is a symbol of the wild beauty and biodiversity of the region.”
Cama also posted about seeing the spirit bear on her personal Instagram page. A page from her field journal, which she photographed and included in the post, read: “How is this my job? So grateful.”
Watch a rare spirit bear in the Canadian rainforest here:
See Cama’s post here:
Header stock image of a spirit bear in British Columbia, Canada by KenCanning/Getty Images