Hikers often encounter black bears in the mountains this time of year but one group did a double take on the weekend when they discovered a bear that was just a little different from the rest.
Alex Royal was hiking south of Canmore with friends on the weekend when they came across a white-phase black bear wandering through the bush.
“It happened quickly and it was far away in the distance so there was no danger,“ said Royal. “I’ve seen a black bear before but nothing like that.”
The female bear’s unusual colour is not the result of a genetic variant like B.C.’s spirit bears.
Black bears can be black, brown, cinnamon, blond, or white, although pure white bears are unusual.
“This is just like not all cats are tabbies, some are black and white and some are orange, this is the exact same phenomenon. So this is just a colour differentiation in this particular bear, it's not a genetic anomaly or a recessive gene like we see with the white, spirit bears on the west coast of B.C. This is just a different colour phase of this black bear,” said Sarah Elmeligi from Alberta Parks.
Parks and wildlife officials have been keeping tabs on this bear for the last several years.
“It is quite different to have a white-phased black bear in this part of the world and so our ecology team has seen her mom and her siblings and stuff,” said Elmeligi. “It is a little bit more rare. There is definitely a higher chance that black bears will be a darker colour but it certainly isn’t unheard of to have cinnamon coloured, black bears or very light brown, black bears.”
The area where the bear was seen is not being released because bear experts say they don't want to see thousands of people flooding the area looking for the animal.
“A bear is still a bear and it’s very important for people recreating in Kananaskis to understand that all animals in Kananaskis are wild animals, they should never be approached, they should never be fed, we should always be keeping our distance from wild animals especially bears of any kind,” said Elmeligi.
Wildlife experts say if you're lucky enough to spot the unusual bear while out hiking to treat it as you would any other bear and give it lots of room.
