Friendly Spirit

Princess Royal Island, British Columbia

Spirit bears exist in many areas of Coastal British Columbia, but the majority of these genetically-unique black bears live on Princess Royal Island. While on this spirit bear excursion, I was lucky to befriend our Aboriginal guide. He was more than willing to share his knowledge of these bears, as well as some of the native legends about them. He told me that the people of the area feel the white-coloured bears have a more docile demeanour than their black counterparts. He told me one traditional story of a spirit bear visiting his community of Klemtu. An elder went out to meet the bear and welcomed it, asking it to be friendly during its stay. The bear agreed and the community experienced no problems during the weeks it was there! It was nice to hear a story where humans accept bears instead of fearing them and driving them away. 

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