We were searching for a rare, white, almost magical creature: the Kermode bear that moves through the temperate rainforest along the coast of British Columbia and southeast Alaska. For years I’ve known about these unique bears and never dreamed I could see one...until we heard there were a few sightings inland instead of those on the remote islands along the west coast of British Columbia. These few sightings were near Terrace, BC - a town a couple of hours from Hyder, AK where we’d bear watched in 2016, 2018, and again his year. Since we were back in the area this Summer, we made it a mission to search for them, no easy mission.. |
You may wonder just how is it that these bears are white. They’re not albino and they’re not polar bears, but a white variant of the North American black bear. The white color is triggered by a recessive mutation at the MCIR gene (the gene that gives humans red hair and white skin). And while the parents don’t have to be white, they just have to carry the recessive gene, but, both parents must carry the gene. Some people are fortunate to see a mother with cubs, with one or more bears being white and others black. It’s suspected that there are somewhere between 400-1000 Kermode bears and aside from those that inhabit the remote islands, the inland black bears, born white, number 1 in 40-100 bears. You’ve probably heard of the proverbial needle in a haystack..that’s what we were looking for First we started with the little bit of intel we had from folks we met in Hyder, AK who were fortunate enough to have seen and photographed the Kermode bear, known by the natives as the Spirit Bear. Try Cranberry Junction, the Nass forest road, the Lava Fields and the town of Terrace - that’s what they told us. So we tried them all. First we drove the Nass Road several days and evenings. It’s a forest service road that’s not maintained. There are a few pull offs for camping so we chose one not far from the paved road. We drove for hours after looking at the creek from a bridge at Cranberry Junction, where we saw bear footprints! The gravel road is washboarded in many places, full of potholes, and speed is kept to under 30mph. Most of the road is tree lined or bush lined, obscuring a view of the creek which we were desperate to see in case bears were moving down it in search of fish. Where we could, we drove down to the water and walked the bank discovering footprints and sometimes scat, but we saw no bears, spirited or otherwise. Dispirited, we moved on toward the lava fields. Two hundred seventy years ago, a volcano erupted sending lava over miles of villages of the Nisga’a people, killing thousands and raising the lake level about 30 meters. This First Nation band memorializes the area with a traditional Nisga’a longhouse visitor center housing artwork and information about their ancestors. Also nearby is a hot spring which they use as a spiritual retreat, but open to the public. The Nisga’a built hot tubs around the spring with cool fresh water mixing in to make for a great soak (which felt hotter than the 102° of our old spa). As we soaked one evening after a long day of driving, we asked folks in the tubs where they were from. “Nearby, in Terrace,” several answered. Of course that led to questions about the spirit bear, and whether they had seen one and where. You see Terrace, BC’s official mascot is the legendary Kermode bear. Since we were about an hour from there and had no luck with the lava fields, the Nass Rd, or Cranberry Junction, we moved on to Terrace. In Terrace, we learned that while folks in Terrace had seen the bears before, most people live there all their lives and never see one. Furthermore, most of the sightings actually happen another thirty minutes north, in the small town of Rosswood, so we picked up the trail on highway 113 and headed north. This is a beautiful scenic drive that winds around Kitsumkalum lake and has some noted hiking trails along the way. Once in Rosswood, we kept going a few miles out of town, since there’s really not much to Rosswood. We were looking for a free camp spot on a forest road just passed the Cedar River bridge but weren’t sure what our options were. So we back tracked to the Rosswood General store - which was anything but general filled with gourmet chocolates, hundreds of different spices and teas, local ground sausage and gift items - and the only business we noticed in town. We were greeted outside by a super friendly mutt. Inside, I found a very friendly staff woman and two gentlemen customers seated at a table - one elderly gentleman wore a cowboy hat and had a gray beard, the other was a portly middle aged man in a T-shirt who suggested we could park down at the community center, indicating no one would bother us there. His companions agreed and he even went so far as to say if we wanted to walk by the river, that we could hop the fence (with it’s no Trespassing sign) and take a walk - he said the owner wouldn’t mind. (I decided not to test that idea.) I wondered if these folks had the authority to tell us camping at the center was all right, but we decided to drive a block down and check it out. It suited us just fine; there were no hookups, but we didn’t need them so we parked there for three nights. It was very quiet and no one cared that we were there. On our quest to see the Kermode bear, one day we decided to hike the Wesach Mt. trail because the store staff said while bears are often seen along the road eating grasses, they hadn’t been seen in two weeks - that they were either in the hills eating berries or down by the river fishing for salmon. So up the hill we went. Only, our car wasn’t meant for this high clearance vehicle road. We drove a few miles and parked, then decided to hike the road to the trailhead. When all was said and done, we hiked 12 miles that day, most were on the twisting uphill gravel road. When we arrived at the trailhead, we were greeted by an overgrown trail recently cut back with debris and branches off to the side. We climbed up, knowing this trail would be UP all the way to the turn-around point. With Rocket in the lead as our bear spotter, we moved from a bush heavy laden hillside into a forest dripping with moss. Everything under the canopy was emerald green and reminded me of pictures of the Great Bear Rainforest I’d seen before...a rainforest where Kermode bears thrive away from the prying eyes of busloads of tourists, away from developed lodges, buildings, storefronts and cars - in forests on islands off the coast of British Columbia where most of the 400+ Kermode bears live. At one point on our hike we hit the blueberry patches. The berries were ripe but a bit tart. We climbed on. We reached a steep section with a rope in place making climbing easier. Of course Rocket scaled it with ease, having four legs. At the top, we entered a subalpine section where there were fewer trees (all Spruce and Fir) and where lichen covered the rocks. Here we were rewarded with views on three sides: mountains, valleys and Kitsumkalum Lake. After lunch, we began our descent imagining the forest section would prove where we’d catch a glimpse of Kermode. But the spirit was not with us. We walked back to the car, tired and hungry but made a snack stop at the general store. This time another employee told us to check the forest road after the Cedar River bridge - the very same road we had stumbled upon when looking for a camp spot! After a shower and early dinner, we headed to Cedar River bridge. The forest road is gravel and about 15 minutes out of town. The store worker said she often drives the road to the river to play fetch with her dog and told us that people have seen the bears there. Since we love driving forest roads and looking for animals, we decided to do a short piece of the road before it got dark. The road leads to a fork with the left road leading to the river where a bridge is washed out. (There we found some mink tracks and eagles but no bears.) The right prong of the fork travels at least 10 miles before large boulders made it too risky for our vehicle, so I’m unsure how far a 4WD vehicle can journey. On our way there we saw two noteworthy things and several Grouse. The first noteworthy sighting was a beautiful light brown Grizzly. The bear was not far from the car on a green hill out of tree cover. She stared at us as we came to a stop, but when another truck passed by, she moved into the forest. The second noteworthy sighting was the truck occupants. They drove up to the top of a hill where you can look down the electric power line, revealing a great vantage point of any animals moving for a mile or so. While it gave us an idea for future visits to the road (to check the view), I was dismayed to see the two guys dressed in camo and one carrying a rifle. I was worried that if hunters can shoot bear, then the few white black bears here might lose their life this Fall. The good news is that there is a ban on trophy hunting in the Great Bear Rainforest, which protects all bears, and as for the Rosswood/Terrace area, the penalty for killing a spirit bear (white black bears) is a fine of $100,000! The spirit bear eluded us that night, but we went to bed knowing we still had another day and a half allocated to our quest. The next morning, we awoke and left the community center campsite before 8am to drive the forest service road. We packed a picnic lunch and decided to spend several hours on the road. At 5-10 miles and hour, it was a slow ride. We got out along the way stopping to glass with high powered binoculars whenever there was a vantage point. We spent time looking into beaver ponds (and seeing a beaver inspect his dam), looking at hillsides, and once the fog burned off, into the river. By lunch time, we were ready to head back to our RV. As a last ditch effort, we stopped at an area close to town that had gravel roads for a subdivision that was never finished, and we went slowly down those roads, hoping to see something...anything. And finally we did see a bear walking through the woods in an area a tad bit exposed, just enough to see him for a brief minute. But he wasn’t a Kermode bear. We took another ride that night around Rosswood and the next day looked on our way to Terrace. After five days of searching, we abandoned hope of seeing a Kermode bear near Terrace. Really the best place to see these bears is on the islands - on Princess Royal, one in ten black bears is white. On Gribbell island, one in three are white. The islands are not inhabited by people but the Gitga’at First Nation and the Kitasoo/Xai’xais people are the stewards of these islands. The bears are revered and respected and for many years were not even spoken of to outsiders. The First Nation people kept them secret to protect them. These days you can tour the islands with a native guide and a guarantee to see the spirit bear. If you don’t succeed on your first day tour, the guides will take you another day. But it’s expensive, and far more than we can afford. So we had to settle for our unguided tour with intel from the locals near Rosswood and Terrace. Our last chance came on the morning drive back to Terrace and on towards Bella Coola, but alas we saw no bears. In the end, I convinced myself that it was OK I didn’t see the elusive rare spirit. That after all, the Kermode bear is just another black bear wearing a white coat. But I can’t deny that I’m envious of my friends who’ve seen them and photographed them...of the folks who get to see them regularly, whether they be the store owner in Rosswood or a ranger in the Great Bear Rainforest. For now, I have to be satisfied that I did my best to see one within our budget and time allotment and that maybe one day I can return and stumble upon one.
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For nearly a month we’ve been bear viewing or traveling to bear viewing destinations, and it’s been great. BUT it’s also been a bit conflicting. I enjoy watching these wonderful animals, but I often wonder how our presence impacts their lives. Over the years, I’ve had the honor to view Kodiak bears in a pristine wilderness from a platform that has no railings, just boards underfoot. I’ve also had the opportunity to view bears (and other wildlife) from a boardwalk with railings that’s several hundred feet long in Hyder, AK. And most recently I had the privilege of viewing bears with no platform nor railings from a road that parallels a stream leading to the Chilkoot Lake State Park. This experience allows bear watching for several miles from the lake to the estuary and surrounding neighborhood. In each location, there is an element of excitement and the possibility of danger, but in varying degrees - depending how close you are to the bears, how habituated the bears are to people, and whether there are people to enforce guidelines. Guidelines are needed and help ensure the safety of both bears and people, but they may not always allow for the best photography. And photography is a key part of the bear viewing experience. But before I explain where the conflict lies, I’d like you to introduce you to some of the bears we’ve seen recently in Haines. If you read my 8/25 blog, you’ve been introduced to Speedy. We watched Speedy for over two weeks in Haines and learned a lot about her life as an adult, a mother, and resident star attraction. We could generally count on seeing Speedy at least twice a day feasting on salmon, walking to the inlet and fishing, running other bears off the weir, and commanding the roadways as she boldly strolled down the road commanding the right-of-way over cars, buses and tourists. In fact, while we got excited to see any bear, sometimes it seemed “ho-hum” when we realized the distant bear coming towards the weir or river was just Speedy again. Photographers who’ve been on the stream for more than a couple of days have plenty of Speedy pictures. She holds a special place in the minds of residents and tourists who’ve been watching her for years. Many people we met in the last two weeks travel to both Hyder, AK and Haines nearly every year and know Speedy well. In my last blog, I introduced the question why Speedy kicked off her three cubs early – after only a year instead of the normal 2-3 years. I still can’t answer that question, and I can’t say if I ever saw her cubs. You see several people believe they saw and photographed two of the three cubs traveling together. While I didn’t see the photographed pair, I did see three “kicked off” cubs hanging out together. And while my friends think the triplets aren’t big enough to have been Speedy’s cubs, I think two of the triplets favor Speedy and boast an orange tint in their haircuts like Speedy. While we were in Haines, we watched 15 different bears. We had the joy of watching a young and beautiful bear fish, swim, eat berries and search for eels under rocks by the inlet. We called her Lodge Bear because she went right up to the only lodge along the stream – the Chilkoot Haven – and feasted on berries near the sign. Then there was LuLu who I became quite fond of, even though the fish counter Nate says the other bears don’t like her. LuLu was present on the weir eating fish on the boardwalk where the fish counter sits and walks (when he wasn’t there), eating fish downstream in the shallow pools near snags of dead trees in the water, playing with sticks in the water and even climbing a dead tree and breaking branches one day! We saw her almost every day and enjoyed her technique of stepping on dead fish in the water and bringing them up with her feet to inspect. Another bear we saw quite a bit was Oreo. Oreo doesn’t seem to venture on the side of the stream nearest the road much but stays on the far side that backs up to forests and hills. We did however see her on several occasions moving through the residential neighborhood by the bridge. The road in the neighborhood dead ends in less than a mile, and the houses back up to the forest and hillsides where the bears sleep and travel to get away from humans. In front of the houses lies the inlet where the waters of the Pacific meet the fresh waters of the stream carrying the salmon to Chilkoot Lake. The bears enjoy this beach environment especially during low tide and Oreo not only digs for eels under the rocks in the inlet, but she digs for roots in the marshy area between the homes and the receding tides. She got her name because she has a creamy white center – a circle of blonde fur on her back and stomach - and darker brown ends - her head/shoulders and rump. There was an Oreo look -alike who had more of a blonde stripe on her shoulders than a larger white center like Oreo. She has no name. There was a rangy looking mother with a mottled coat (whom I like to refer to as the rangy mom) and two spring cubs. There was #902 who has a radio collar with two cubs nicknamed Salt and Pepper; one is blonde and the other dark brown. There were the triplets who were scarce but viewable early, early mornings or late at night. And there were a few nameless solo bears as well. I tell you this so you can understand that these bears were more to us than just passing animals coming down the river. We, along with many others, watched with enthusiasm while marveling at their fishing skills, and their tolerance for humans. But the experience is about more than watching, it’s about wondering what they’ll do next, why they’re doing something at a specific moment, and wondering what their lives are like when we aren’t watching. And all of that brings me to the question, is our presence in their lives, watching them so intently, detrimental? Haines offers a unique bear viewing experience allowing close viewing and the ability to follow bears up and down the stream, to the lake, to the estuary and beyond into the neighborhood or along the road from town. It’s not just a platform or boardwalk you stay on and view the animals as they come and go. In bear viewing situations with platforms, bears can come and go as they please choosing to feast on spawning salmon in the evenings when no one is around or choosing to feast when people are on the platform, or even choosing to feast on salmon in other parts of a river. In Haines, however, people can move beyond the platform and follow the bears, and the bears have to move into the forest away from the road (or backed up to the lake) if they want to get away from us. Busloads of tourists unload from cruise ships and families in cars or on foot can walk the 1.5 mile road viewing the bears from various vantage points. Bicyclists and pedestrians, cars and buses move along the corridor from early morn until about 10pm most nights during spawning season (June-Sept). The easiest fishing spot is along the weir – a manmade structure that is only up during the salmon spawning months - it allows the state fisheries personnel to count the fish swimming upstream to the lake. (This is a critical Sockeye spawning area.) There’s a safety zone on 100’ of either side of the weir gate along the road where no human fishermen are allowed. And when a bear is on the weir or fishing within this 100’ either side of the weir gate, no bicyclists nor pedestrians can be in the zone. Cars can travel through the zone, but there is no stopping in this zone at any time. This allows for the safety of the fish counter on the weir as well as the safety of the bears and tourists since the bears can slip down from the forest and into the fishing area quickly and quietly. While in Haines, countless times we watched as tourists walked into the zone while bears were fishing. Quite often whether bears were there or not, we watched people stop at the weir gate which clearly is signed NO STOPPING, NO STANDING, NO TRESPASSING. The fish counter, Nate, told us of countless times people have even opened that gate to walk onto the boardwalk where he works! While we were in Haines, we watched as people ignored the safety zone rules, people parked where they weren’t supposed to so they could photograph a bear in the water, and people blatantly ignored guidelines of how close they should be to a bear. And I’m sure my comfort zone with Speedy (who Nate refers to as the circus bear) was much too close. In the excitement of the moment surrounded by a group of people, it’s easy to forget that our actions can impede a bear’s movements. Sometimes they just need space to move to different areas. And it makes me sad to think I may be part of the problem. We all have to remember to respect the bears and their needs. There’s no cost for this wildlife experience (unless you pay a tour company), there are very few rules, and for the rules in place, there is usually no one to enforce them. There is an occasional park ranger who gives parking tickets or tells people where they can’t be. But he splits his time with two other parks and is only present a few hours here and there. But in a few weeks, the road will be closed until June, 2020 and will be repaved. And there are rumors abounding about what else may change. There’s been talk of charging the public to use the road, setting limits on the size of the vehicles, and talk of building a platform from which folks can view the bears. On the one hand, Terry and I and the other friends we’ve made in Haines are glad we’ve been able to enjoy this unique experience, and we think these changes could forever change the experience for tourists; and, we aren’t sure what will be best for the bears. On the other hand, because humans can’t seem to follow the guidelines or rules set down, perhaps some changes are in order. But amidst all of this angst about what the bear viewing experience will look like next year and beyond, is the simple conflict in my mind…are we negatively impacting the lives of these bears? Does this desire for a gaggle of photographers running from place to place up and down the road for photographs make bears change course? Undoubtedly sometimes it does. Does the number of times tourists come too close to a bear change the bear’s tolerance of humans? Likely so, and is that a good or bad thing? During hunting season, what’s to stop one of these fairly habituated bears from walking deep into the hills and being shot? Certainly the sheer number of people watching bears can impact what a bear does next. I’ve watched as loud bus engines, diesel truck engines, or humans shouting gets the attention of a bear who then moves in another direction. Another direction from his food source. And so when I really stop and think about that, I say to myself we’re watching a wonderful creature and are fascinated by his/her behavior. But he’s actually trying to make his living in front of us. Whether he can find food or not, is a life and death situation. Whether a mother bear can teach her young where to feed on certain types of food during different times of the year determines whether a young bear can survive on his own. So we need to think carefully how we interact with these animals and how our actions can influence their livelihoods. And before new procedures are put in place in Haines, whether a platform is built along the weir in the safety zone, or whether the movements of recreationists on the stream and lake are restricted, the state needs to analyze what changes will mean and whether they will be harmful or helpful. All of this being said and contemplated, we have another bear viewing stop to make in about a week. We plan to head to Bella Coola in British Columbia to a bear viewing platform where the salmon have only begin to head to their spawning grounds. I’m told that when the salmon are abundant, so are the bears. It will be great to see new bears and to bond with friends we’ve made (Sandra, Rudy, Sue & Rodger, Rick) who travel to all the same bear viewing locations and photograph and enjoy the bears. We’ll likely spend just a week there because viewing them from a platform is fun and interesting, but we mostly enjoy finding bears, like the grizzly we met on a trail in the Yukon this week. He acted naturally and didn’t run to or away from us, merely watched us back and then ambled off. It felt better than following a bear fishing on the river and trying to get a great photo, partly because we weren’t part of a group of people gawking. And partly because we got only a glimpse and then he got on with living his life. In closing, if you’ve had bear viewing experiences or want to share your thoughts about this conflict with watching wildlife, please let me know your thoughts.
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AuthorFormer documentary film producer, wife and mother of one...I'm taking time off to see the US with my husband Terry. Here's where I'll write about our adventures RVing until the money runs out! Archives
August 2021
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