The Spirit Bear

After searching the woods of British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest for three weeks photographer Paul Nicklen finally had an amazing encounter with the elusive Kermode Bear known as The Spirit Bear. Paul was only able to have this awesome encounter with the Spirit Bear with the help of First Nation guide Marven Robinson who the bear knows and trusts. The Spirit Bear has survived largely due to First Nation Native Americans who never hunted them or spoke of them to outsiders. They are a subspecies of Black Bear and not Polar Bears despite their predominately white coat.