A sleeping Kermode bear in British Columbia, Canada
© John E Marriott/SuperStoc
A long winter’s nap. Spirit of the rainforest
The Kermode bear, often called the ‘spirit bear’ due to its ghostly appearance, isn’t albino or related to the polar bear. It’s a subspecies of black bear, born with pigmented skin and eyes, but a genetic mutation produces no pigment in the fur. Two black bears with dark fur can produce a Kermode cub, while a Kermode parent doesn’t guarantee a Kermode offspring. Spirit bears haunt the moss-covered territory of the Great Bear Rainforest, which is where our homepage photo was taken, but others have been documented in the greater coastal region of British Columbia. Nature, your lovely weirdness wins again.
Related Images
Herd of African elephants in Amboseli National Park, Kenya
Pale-throated sloth perched in a tree on Sloth Island, Essequibo River, Guyana
Bengal tiger in Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan, India
Giant panda in Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan, China
Bear cubs playing by a lake
Mother cheetah and her cub in the Maasai Mara nature reserve, Kenya
Brown-throated three-toed sloth in Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica
Male African lion and cub in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in southern Africa
Bing Today Images
Meon Hill, Gloucestershire, England
Nov 17, 2023
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain
Nov 17, 2022
Nohsngithiang Falls in Meghalaya, India
Nov 17, 2021
Ambassador's Hall in the Alcázar of Seville, Spain
Nov 17, 2017
Vineyards near Beaujeu, Rhône, France
Nov 17, 2016
