On the trail of the spirit bear

Published 1:30 am Sunday, March 25, 2018

For thousands of years, legend has told of white bears that hide deep in the forest on British Columbia’s north coast.

These rare and elusive spirit bears, found in B.C.’s Great Bear Rainforest, were kept a secret for generations. The First Nations people who also call the rain forest home feared that if word of their existence spread, the bears would be killed as trophies.

Today, the spirit bears epitomize British Columbia’s 21-million-acre coastal temperate rain forest — a reminder of the importance of protecting the only corner of the planet where you can spot the almost mythical white relative of the black bear.

Dan Clements, of Everett, was lucky enough to photograph the spirit bear in the Great Bear Rainforest.

“It’s where myth and reality merge,” he said. “The history of the indigenous people and their story of the spirit bear is just really fascinating.”

An adventurer, photographer and author, Clements, 69, will talk about his trip to the Great Bear Rainforest to see the spirit bear for Marysville’s Outdoor Adventure Speaker Series at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Marysville Opera House.

Through his photos — part of a portfolio of photographs from around the globe — Clements hopes to spread awareness about how spirit bear populations are threatened by climate change.

In September, Clements was one of six travelers aboard a sailboat that visited remote Gribbell Island, about 175 miles north of Vancouver Island’s northernmost point. There, they trekked through wilderness to watch and photograph the spirit bear, the second rarest bear in the world. (The rarest is the gobi bear found in Mongolia.) There are only an estimated 400 of them in the rain forest, so the best chance for travelers to see them is during the salmon run August through October, when the bears hunt for fish.

The spirit bear is actually a black bear. A double recessive gene makes 1 in 10 black bears as white as a polar bear.

Just two years ago, the Great Bear Rainforest was recognized by the Canadian government. The Great Bear Rainforest Agreement was signed Feb. 1, 2016, between First Nations and the government to protect 19 million acres of the rain forest.

Though not listed as “vulnerable” or “endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, spirit bears are under a lot of stress because of climate change. Salmon runs are declining, the fish themselves are getting smaller, and grizzlies are moving into the white bear’s habitat.

And while it is illegal to shoot spirit bears, it is still legal to hunt black bears. Clements pointed out the loophole in the law.

“Both parents can be black and have a white bear,” Clements said, adding that their coats range in color from snow white to honey gold. “If you shoot a black bear, you never know if it’s carrying the recessive gene.”

Clements saw and photographed dozens of bears on the trip — though just one of them was a spirit bear. His group stayed on a 92-foot sailboat so they could go island-hopping as they searched the rain forest. After the boat dropped anchor, a guide took the group on 2- to 4-mile hikes through pouring rain and boot-sucking mud. One day saw 70 mph winds.

“It’s probably one of the hardest photo shoots that I’ve done,” he said. “It’s pretty unusual to see even one spirit bear — and to photograph one without any rain coming down so you can get some decent photos is pretty special.”

In addition to a spirit bear, Clements photographed grizzly and black bears, a humpback whale, a fin whale, bald eagles, sea otters, salmon, a dipper and — another rare sighting — an ocean sunfish or common mola, the heaviest known bony fish in the world. It can weigh up to a ton.

A mother black bear and her cub came within 15 feet of the group; a grizzly, 20 feet.

Adventure might just be Clements’ middle name.

He has climbed, hiked, skied, sailed and scuba-dived around the world. He’s swum with great white sharks, trekked through Amazonian jungles, sailed in the Mediterranean and climbed mountains in Africa and Europe.

A photographer specializing in underwater and nature photography, Clements is the founder and publisher of Pacific Northwest Diver, the Pacific Northwest Underwater Photographic Society’s magazine. He also is the author of the book “Critters, Creatures & Kelp.”

His next adventures? Photographing cougars in Montana, followed by jaguars in Brazil.

Lauren Woodmansee, the recreation coordinator for the city of Marysville, is eager to hear Clements’ story and see more of his photos at the event Tuesday at the Opera House.

“He sent me one photo and — oh my God! — it was just breathtaking,” Woodmansee said. “He captured this amazing bear in its natural environment. You can see the peace and tranquility in the photo.”

When Clements saw a spirit bear for the first time, it made an entrance.

On Gribbell Island, the group was waiting and watching near a river when all of a sudden the golden-colored bear hopped onto a log.

The bear sauntered across the logs lining the river, watching for salmon. It was just 40 feet away.

“He was parading in front of us, really putting on a show,” Clements said. “It was just amazing. It was like he owned the place.”

And, as luck would have it, it wasn’t raining.

Sara Bruestle: 425-339-3046 or sbruestle@heraldnet.com.

If you go

The Marysville Outdoor Adventure Speaker Series is held 6 to 8 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Marysville Opera House, 1225 Third St. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Cost is $5. Call 360-363-8400 or visit marysvillewa.gov.

Now in its second year, the series runs January through May and September through November. Speakers share their adventures and expertise on topics that include hiking, climbing, snowshoeing, biking, photography, boating and birding. Here are the next three:

March 27: Photographer, author and adventurer Dan Clements will talk about “The Great Bear Rainforest: Home of the Spirit Bear.”

April 24: Author, hiker and historian Lauren Danner presents “North Cascades National Park: A Crown Jewel Wilderness.”

May 22: Kyle Bingham, owner of the global travel company Unavita Adventures, plans to talk about “Finding Adventure.”