Ghostly Spirit Bears Roam Canada's Great Bear Rainforest

Ghostly white spirit bears, a rare subspecies of black bear, inhabit the Great Bear Rainforest along British Columbia's coast. Photographer Jack Plant has spent a decade documenting these elusive creatures and their integral relationship with local First Nations communities, some of whom have never seen one. These communities have spearheaded crucial conservation efforts, leading to bans on trophy hunting for grizzly and black bears province-wide.

The Great Bear Rainforest, a vast temperate rainforest, is home to spirit bears, which are not albino but possess a recessive gene. Despite conservation successes, challenges persist. Climate change and overfishing are impacting salmon populations, the primary food source for these bears, making them harder to spot. Indigenous groups, like the Kitasoo Xai'xais, are actively involved in conservation through initiatives such as the Coastal Guardian Watchmen patrols and ecotourism, aiming to protect the biome and secure their future.