Have you ever read the book Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen? If not here's a brief overview. It's about a young boy, Cole Matthews, who severely beats another boy, and is faced with a decision. Cole can either spend a long time in jail, or he can spend a year in a remote area in Alaska. He chooses to go to Alaska, and while he is there he gets mauled by a bear known as the Spirit Bear. He learns many new things about life, honesty, trust, and love, all with this one bears help. Now, why am I telling you this? Because the Spirit Bear is an actual, living bear. It's actual name is the Kermode Bear, and lives in the rain forest on the coast of British Columbia. It's called the Spirit Bear due to its rare gene that changes a black bear into a pure white bear. These bears are extremely rare, so much so that in the article What is a spirit bear? says that possibly only 100 are known to exist. In a video from National Geographic (above) Paul Nicklen, a photographer for National Geographic, talks about his experience with the Spirit (Kermode) Bear, and how amazing it was to interact with these very rare, but wonderful creatures. These animals are beautiful and should be protected at all costs. That's what Nicklen is trying to show every body. Something so rare, and so magical, should be protected from harm. I have also included a video from Spirit Bear Lodge . It talks about a Native American culture that has protected this species for many, many years. It also talks about the Kitasoo/Xai'xais peoples legend of the Spirit Bear.
I found this post very interesting and insightful. I do not know much about bears or their environment but and interested in animals that rare and need to be preserved. I agree with the video above that oil has a major impact on the environment and the horrible effects that come from it. Many animals lives are risked because of oil and animals that are rare do not need to be impacted by this. I really like that you are raising awareness to this matter and informing people on the importance of how effecting it is.
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