A black bear with a white coat was spotted traversing the Michigan wilderness in early September. Wildlife officials say the sighting is one of the rarest in recent history, as there is a one-in-a-million chance of sighting a white-coated black bear.
The 50-pound white-coated black bear was spotted in Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula.
It is a region of the Great Lakes State on the border between Canada and the United States, where bears are very numerous.
Spotting one of these bears is a rare feat anywhere, however, in America the sighting is particularly unusual, due to the fact that bear genetics spread across the North American continent offer a much lower chance to have black bears with a white or blond coat.
Currently, they are observed almost exclusively in Western Canada, which is home to a certain subspecies of the American black bear that is sometimes born with a white coat.
Originally called “spirit bears” by Native Americans who once roamed the then-challenging American landscape, the sighting of the elusive, all-white creature is the first in state history and the first time that we have been able to film it in the United States for almost 20 years.
Area wildlife officials, meanwhile, are keeping their eyes peeled for the elusive beast, which is at risk of poaching during the current hunting season, which ends Oct. 14.
The photos of the Michigan bear were taken by a camera trap, an automatic device that can be set up on a trail to take a picture when it detects movement. The news was first reported by MLive.
The footage was captured by a resident of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and shared with the agency.
Cody Norton, explained how rare the find was in this region: “It’s just exciting to see an animal appear like this here rather than elsewhere,” Norton said, although the department has no not yet confirmed that the male bear actually has a white coat.
The all-white phenomenon, experts say, is more common in the northern neighbor of the United States due to the fact that they are isolated from the largest population of black bears on the North American continent.
Spotting one of the colorless bears is a rare feat anywhere, however, in America the sighting is particularly unusual.
This is because the genetics of bears spread across the North American continent provide a much lower chance of white or blond colorations.
Currently, these white-coated black bears are almost exclusively confined to Western Canada, which is home to a certain subspecies of the American black bear that is sometimes born with blond colorations.
It’s not yet known if the bear spotted this month has a genetic link to Kermode bears in Canada, with MNR officials not normally required to search for a bear to confirm its existence based on its color.
Seeing an all-white black bear, experts say, is more common in the northern neighbor of the United States.
This is because they are isolated from the largest population of black bears on the North American continent.
The ours Kermode, meanwhile, live on a chain of islands along the Pacific coast of British Columbia, where about 10-20% of the population has white coats. This is because recessive genes appear more often in the more limited gene pool of animals.
Unlike British Columbia, where fewer than 400 polar bears roam the Canadian countryside, there is no special legal protection for polar bears in Michigan.
The footage was first captured on September 3, just days before the start of hunting season, meaning the bear could be in danger if it hasn’t already been killed by poachers .