Manataka
American Indian Council
Environment
PROTECT THE SPIRIT BEAR'S
ONLY HOME ON EARTH
There are only about 400 of them left in the world
The Tsimshian people believe in the legend of Moksgm'ol - the spirit of the
rainforest. It is said that Creator, the Raven, decided to create a reminder of
when the world was once covered with ice and snow. To do this, he was said to
fly among the black and brown bear people and turn every tenth one white. He
decreed that these bears would live in peace and harmony forever.
Until the turn of the century, Moksgm'ol lived in virtual isolation, known only
to the Tsimshian people. As change began to invade the untouched rainforests of
British Columbia, the secret of Moksgm'ol slowly became known. Most settlers
that inhabited the north coast one hundred years ago, laughed at the idea of a
'spirit' bear and although a white pelt would show up occasionally at fur
trading posts, it was commonly believed to be a misplaced polar bear. To one,
however, the thought of the polar bear being twenty three hundred kilometers
away from its known range was too far of a stretch. W.T. Hornaday, a naturalist
from the New York Zoological Society, launched an investigation to discover the
secrets of Moksgm'ol, the spirit of the rainforest.
Hornaday spent several years in the backwoods of
British Columbia's north coast in search
of the elusive white bear, which in his opinion, was a new species-awaiting
discovery. The possibilities for discoveries seemed endless in this wild new
land. In 1905, Hornaday announced the discovery of a new species and named the
bear Kermode, after Francis Kermode, the director of the British Columbia Museum of Natural
History, who did much of Hornaday's legwork. As a result, Kermode assisted in
the study in 1924, providing the outside world, the first view into the life of
the Kermode bear, with the capture of a small white cub. However, the more they
seemed to learn, the less they actually knew.
As studies began, by scientists other than Hornaday, the results revealed that the Kermode bear wasn't a distinct species, as Hornaday had boldly stated, but not an Albino either. It was, in fact, a genetically unique subspecies of the North American black bear, which for unknown reasons, occurred only in one small corner of the world, in one small corner of British Columbia.
The Spirit Bear Youth Coalition was established as one of the first youth run environmental organizations with the hope of uniting and giving a voice to youth globally in the quest to save B.C.'s rare white Kermode or spirit bear. We are backed by the likes of Dr. Jane Goodall and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Charlotte Church, and the Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys, while serving as an umbrella organization for thousands of youth and adults alike. Our goal is to see established a large wilderness sanctuary for the spirit bear and to ensure its place in B.C. and the world for all generations. We feel that it is imperative that youth are given a voice in this issue as we are the future stewards of the land and the decisions being made today will directly affect our future. Youth, after all, represent half of the world's population.
Originally proposed by the Valhalla Wilderness Society, the Spirit Bear Youth
Coalition supports the protection of a 249,000-hectare wilderness conservancy to
preserve the last intact habitat of the spirit bear. This includes Princess
Royal Island, Pooley Island and the adjacent mainland watersheds - the Carter,
the Green, the Yule, the Khutze, and the Aaltanhash. The future of the Land of
the Spirit Bear hangs in a delicate balance - between the protection of a rare
bear, found nowhere else in the world and forestry jobs in a struggling economy.
It is the view of the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition that we must be part of the
solution in order to preserve the spirit bear and its rainforest home. Thus the
intent, aside from preserving the proposed conservancy, is to insure that steps
are taken to ensure minimal job loss in the forest industry and that the rights
of the local First Nation members are recognized.
The actions we take today will be our legacy to the future. The Spirit Bear
Youth Coalition hopes the protection of the spirit bear will be a legacy of
"absolute freedom and wildness" for all generations, for all time.
Where Spirit Bears Live
Spirit or Kermode bears are found only on British Columbia's mid-coast. Rarely, a white bear is reported from other black bear populations elsewhere in North America but these are from different subspecies.
Much of the
spirit bear's historic territory is already logged, from River's Inlet at the
south end of its range, to the Nass valley in the north, and east up the Skeena
River as far as Hazelton. On the mid-coast, large chunks of the islands where
the Kermode bears live -- Princess Royal, Gribbell, Roderick and Pooley -- have
already been logged. The spirit bear's traditional home is already much
diminished. The logging industry has extracted substantial commercial value from
the range of the spirit bear. Having some of the ecosystem protected in the
newly announced "Spirit Bear Protection Area" is very important. The
time has come to protect other intact areas, too. This is why the Valhalla
Wilderness Society and others would like to see other spirit bear habitats like
Gribbell Island and the Green and Aaltanhash watersheds protected, too.
How Do Spirit Bears Survive in the Rainforest?
Spirit bears
thrive in their rainforest home on a diet of green plants, berries and salmon.
In the winter, they hibernate in a dry cavity inside giant old trees, protected
from howling winter storms. The hibernating bear slowly digests its stored body
fat. One amazing thing about spirit bears (and
grizzly bears) is that their
young are often born in the middle of winter, while the mother bear is still in
hibernation. The tiny bear cubs, born blind and defenseless, stay in the den
until spring, when the mother wakes and takes them on their first foray into the
larger world of the rainforest.
Here are some links to other Spirit Bear sites:
http://www.spiritbearyouth.org
http://www.wildernessprints.com
Take Action Now!
The Valhalla Wilderness Society needs your help to continue our
campaigns.
Find out how you can help
prevent further destruction of our precious wilderness and
wildlife.
Courtesy
of Valhalla
Wilderness Society
Copyright 2003, Valhalla Wilderness Society