Bear, Kermode

BEAR, KERMODE  () (Ursus americanus kermodei) is a subspecies of black BEAR that may be white or black in colour. Kermodes in their white coloration are known as spirit bears or snow bears. They are generally found in a 400 sq km range of coastal forest from PRINCESS ROYAL ISLAND north to STEWART and inland as far as HAZELTON, though some have been found as far away as the LIARD R. It was named in 1905 after Dr Francis Kermode, director of the provincial museum (see ROYAL BC MUSEUM), who collected the first white pelts that led to its identification. A single Kermode, confiscated from a smuggler, lived in a cage in Victoria's BEACON HILL PARK during 1924–48. Hunting Kermodes has been illegal since 1965; the population appears to be stable but could be compromised if logging takes place on large north coast islands. TERRACE has adopted the Kermode as the town symbol. In 2001 the provincial government created a protected area on Princess Royal I for the Kermode, the Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy, and in 2006 the bear received official provincial mammal status.