Canada is home to an incredible diversity of wildlife, but few creatures capture the imagination like the Spirit Bear. Unique to Canada, this rare bear often surprises people and reminds us that much of the country’s biodiversity remains unnoticed. Protecting these remarkable species starts with simply knowing they exist.

Canada is home to a diverse array of wildlife. From Atlantic puffins nesting on the rocky cliffs of Newfoundland and Labrador, to the moose roaming the boreal forests of Ontario and Quebec, and the countless other plant and animal species in between, there are plenty of iconic Canadian creatures that capture our attention. 

Among these, there exists a species that quite often surprises people: the Spirit Bear. So much so, that a false story about it went viral on social media in 2021, claiming that one of these bears in particular had been misidentified as a Polar Bear and was sent to the Arctic, not once but twice! While the tale was later debunked, it highlights an important point: Canada’s biodiversity is both abundant and astonishingly unique, yet many of its inhabitants go unnoticed. If we don’t even know these creatures exist, how can we hope to protect them?

The Spirit Bear

The Spirit Bear, locally known as the “Kermode bear,” is found in the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia. According to a legend of the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation, “Goo-wee (Raven) turned one in every ten black bears white to remind the people of a time when glaciers covered the land and how the people should be thankful of the lush and bountiful land of today.” Many believe that Spirit Bears possess supernatural powers, a belief reflected in their name. 

While many assume the Spirit Bear is a type of polar bear or albino bear, it is actually a subspecies of the American black bear (Ursus americanus), exhibiting a white coat as a result of a recessive gene. Recorded numbers of these white black bears vary widely, but all estimates place their population in the low hundreds. A 2020 study by the Kitasoo Xai’xais and Gitga’at First Nations with academic researchers found that the gene responsible for this variation is up to 50% rarer than previously estimated; suggesting that earlier population numbers of 100–500 bears were likely too high.

Cultural and ecological significance

The First Nations communities who have lived in this region of British Columbia for generations refer to the Spirit Bear as moksgm’ol, meaning “white bear.” This mammal is regarded as a symbol of peace, harmony, and balance, considered sacred and is an integral part of Indigenous culture and traditions. 

Beyond their cultural importance, Spirit Bears (along with their black bear relatives) play a vital role in the ecosystem by carrying salmon from streams into the forest to eat them. In doing so, they are uniquely important seed dispersers and spread marine nutrients, where salmon alone supplying roughly 80% of the nitrogen that sustains the rainforest’s trees. 

What is happening to the Spirit Bear? 

Unfortunately, climate change in combination with other negative anthropogenic impacts are depleting salmon populations at an alarming rate, threatening a crucial food source for the Spirit Bear. In British Columbia, Pacific salmon numbers have dropped by more than 80% since the 1990s. The decline in wildlife populations results in widespread ecosystem effects. When bears have reduced access to one of their most important food sources, it forces them to compete more intensely and turn to less nutritious alternatives. Fewer salmon carcasses also means less marine-derived nutrients in forests and reduced food for countless other species in the food chain. The vulnerability of the Spirit Bear is also attributed to habitat loss, further heightening the species’ risk as roughly half of known Spirit Bear hotspots are outside protected areas, leaving their habitats exposed to logging, mining, and drilling. 

What can you do? 

Learning about Spirit bears is a great place to start – that’s why you’re here. By deepening our understanding of biodiversity and sharing what we learn with our friends, family and in our community, we all play a role in raising awareness and fostering stewardship for Canadian wildlife species like the Spirit Bear and for their habitat as well.

Next, we can take action by supporting Indigenous leadership in conservation. First Nations in British Columbia are working to create Indigenous Protected Areas, which would safeguard the rainforest and return decision-making power to local communities. You can help by learning about and amplifying these initiatives, urging policymakers to strengthen environmental protections, programs and policies, and supporting organizations led by First Nations.

You can learn more about taking action for biodiversity, by visiting our Biodiversity Action Agenda. 

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