Kermode bear
Kermode bear | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Family: | Ursidae |
Genus: | Ursus |
Species: | |
Subspecies: | U. a. kermodei
|
Trinomial name | |
Ursus americanus kermodei Hornaday, 1905
|
The Kermode bear, sometimes called the spirit bear (Ursus americanus kermodei), is a
Description
The Kermode bear was named after Frank Kermode, former director of the
White Kermode bears are not
Kermode bears are omnivorous for most of the year, subsisting mainly on herbage and berries except during autumn salmon migrations, when they become obligate predators.[5] During the day, white bears are 35% more successful than black bears in capturing salmon.[12] Salmon evade large, black models about twice as frequently as they evade large white models, giving white bears an advantage in salmon hunting. The white fur of the bear is harder to spot under water by fish than black fur is, so the bear can catch fish more easily.[12] On some islands, white Kermode bears have more marine-derived nutrients in their fur, indicating that white Kermode bears eat more salmon than the black Kermode bears.[13]
Habitat
The U. a. kermodei subspecies ranges from
Fewer than 400 white-coloured bears were estimated to exist in the coast area that stretches from
The bear's habitat was potentially under threat from the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, whose planned route would have passed near the Great Bear Rainforest.[16][17] Indigenous groups including the Gitgaʼat opposed the pipeline.[18] The Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline was rejected by the federal government in 2016.
Conservation
Although the Kermode bear is not rare, considerable conservation efforts have been made to maintain the subspecies' population due to the bear's cultural significance.
The majority of the Kermode bears' protein intake is from salmon during the fall.[12][19][15] Salmon are a keystone species and are important to the nutrient intake of both aqueous and terrestrial environments.[20] The salmon contribute nutrients to water during spawning and contribute to the land with decomposition of their carcasses when predators, such as bears, scatter them throughout the forest.
In 2012, the coastal First Nations banned trophy hunting of all bears in their territories in the Great Bear Rainforest. In 2017, after much public pressure to end the practice, the government of British Columbia banned the trophy hunting of grizzlies in the Great Bear Rainforest, but the hunting of black bears remains legal. A concern in regards to hunting is potential poaching.[21] Grizzly bears also pose a threat to Kermode bear populations because of the decline of natural resources, especially salmon populations that are becoming subject to climate change and overfishing.[15][22] Using noninvasive hair-line traps scientists tracked the movement of grizzlies across the coasts and rainforest. They found that grizzlies are moving into black bear and Kermode bear salmon feeding grounds more often. This disrupts the feeding of Kermode and other black bears, as they often retreat once grizzlies arrive.[15]
Spirit Bear Lodge is an
In captivity
In October 2012, a Kermode bear, believed to be the first in captivity, became a resident of the British Columbia Wildlife Park in Kamloops.[23] The yearling cub was found abandoned in northwestern British Columbia on the side of Terrace Mountain near Terrace. After two unsuccessful attempts to rehabilitate and release him back into the wild, the cub, now nicknamed Clover by handlers, was sent to the park when conservation officers decided that he was not a candidate for relocation.[24] The park has plans to create a custom home for the bear, which escaped from his temporary enclosure once.[25] Animal-rights group Lifeforce believed that the bear was healthy enough to survive on his own and that he should be relocated and released back into the wild.[26] Provincial government wildlife officials maintained their position against attempting a long-distance relocation, stating that the risks outweighed the possible benefits, and as of February 2023[update], the bear remains in captivity.[27][28]
See also
- Cinnamon bear, another color variant of the American black bear
- White stag, an animal variant with an important position in folklore and mythology
- White lion
- White panther
- White tiger
References
- ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ a b c "Spirit Bear Facts". British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Lands. Archived from the original on 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ^ a b "Symbols of British Columbia". Office of Protocol. Government of British Columbia. Archived from the original on 2007-01-26. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
- ^ "Terrace, British Columbia (Canada)". CRW Flags. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ PMID 22276530.
- ^ S2CID 15846139.
- ISBN 0-7922-4110-X.
- ^ "Forests, Planet Earth III Series 1 Episode 5 of 8". BBC. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
- ^ Warmack, Steve. "The Kermode Bear". Archived from the original on 2008-04-16. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
- ^ "Kermode Bear: Icon for an Engangered Ecosystem" from National Wildlife Magazine 1/15/2010
- ^ "Surname Database: Kermode Last Name Origin". surnamedb.com. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
- ^ ISSN 0024-4066.
- ISSN 0024-4066.
- ^ a b "The Pacific Coast of BC is home to the world's only white coloured Black Bears". Spirit Bear Adventure LTD. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
- ^ a b c d Shoumatoff, Alex. "This Rare, White Bear May Be the Key to Saving a Canadian Rainforest", Smithsonian Magazine, August 31, 2015.
- ^ Kaufman, Rachel (October 7, 2010). "Photos: Canadian Rain Forest Edges Oil Pipeline Path". National Geographic News. Archived from the original on October 9, 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ Save, Planet (November 4, 2011). "Canada's 'Spirit Bears' Threatened by Proposed Oil Pipeline". IBTimes UK. Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "Rare Spirit Bear Endangered in Canada". ZamanUSA.com. Associated Press. November 28, 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ISSN 0008-4301.
- S2CID 53500057. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2016-10-21. Retrieved 2017-12-12 – via www.bearbiology.com.
- ^ a b Langlois, Krista (2017-10-26). "First Nations Fight to Protect the Rare Spirit Bear from Hunters". news.nationalgeographic.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
- ^ Temple, Nicola, ed. (2005). Salmon in the Great Bear Rainforest (PDF). Victoria, British Columbia: Raincoast Conservation Society. pp. 3–21.
- ^ "Orphaned B.C. kermode bear becomes a rare attraction at Kamloops wildlife park". Canadian Press. October 30, 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ "Orphaned B.C. kermode bear wants human contact, moves to Kamloops wildlife park". macleans.ca. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
- ^ vancouversun.com[permanent dead link]
- ^ Morton, Brian (2001-11-24). "Kermode bear cub should be freed from Kamloops sanctuary: Lifeforce". vancouversun.com. Archived from the original on 2018-10-23. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
- ^ "Our Wildlife - Bears". BC Wildlife Park. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Fate of Clover the 'spirit bear' from B.C. draws international interest". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. 8 October 2012.