Ultra Rare White Grizzly Bear Spotted Near Tourist Resort

May 31, 2020 by apost team

Workers of Trans-Canada Highway in Banff Park have reportedly spotted an exceedingly rare pure white grizzly bear near a tourist resort in the park. Parks Canada said the bear was first spotted in 2018 but made headlines at the end of April after a social media video gained traction. As of May 22, the bear has been named Nakoda, which means “friend” or “ally” in the native language of three Indigenous tribes in the area: Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Wesley.

Clara Clarkson, a worker at Rimrock Hotel, spotted the bear while driving on the Highway of Trans-Canada near the hotel together with her husband and sons. The bear was searching for food at the edge of the highway in the company of its sibling, which was a typical brown grizzly.

In an interview with St. Albert Today, Clara said that her family was surprised to come across the white grizzly bear. “I would have driven off and not disrobed the bear, but its sight was a once in a lifetime opportunity," Cara claimed. According to Mike Gibeau, a retired researcher at Parks Canada, grizzly bears have a spectrum of colors ranging from light blonde to dark black, but it's exceedingly rare to find a pure white grizzly bear.

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“All my time working with grizzly bears since 1980, I have never set an eye on a white grizzly bear,” said the researcher. "I have seen blonde grizzly bears, but never have I come across a white one," he insisted.

Experts initially speculated that the white grizzly was an albino. However, Gibeau explained that it could have also changed the eyes and skin of the bear. Its eyes could be lacking pigment and that makes it appear pale pink due to albinism. He said that instead, the white coat of fur is probably due to a recessive gene hardly seen in the wild.

Another worker in the Parks Canada by the name Seth Cherry told Global News, “the white grizzly bear could be the only one he is aware that's been spotted in the Rocky Mountain National Park.” In 2018, park officials had identified the two grizzlies when they were little cubs. Back then, the white bear looked more blonde than white.

The bears were feeding near a grain spill at the tracks next to Trans-Canada Highway, approximately 40 miles from the Rimrock Resort. Park workers were doing their best to force the bears back into the park and far away from homes.

The official believes that the bear and its brown-furred sibling might have used tall snowdrifts to climb over the fence that runs around Tran-Canada Highway to return to come down in search of food. Parks Canada's Jon Stuart-Smith said that he was hoping that the bears would relocate once they realize there are no food sources.

"This is a hard-to-find bear and I have never seen one before,” Stuart-Smith said. “People should know that it is out there. They should do things like not stopping on the highway to ensure its safety. We hope that the bear will eventually move into higher elevations," he added.

What are your thoughts about the unique white grizzly bear? Tell us in the comments and let the information get to everyone that an ultra-rare grizzly bear is out there.