Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy

07-20-2009

 Spirit Bear Adventures Provides Rare Glimpse into World's Only Spirit Bear Conservancy

 

Klemtu, British Columbia, July 20, 2009- The rugged coast of British Columbia is the only place on earth to view white fur coated black bears, or "spirit bears” and the best time to view these rare animals is August and September.  Spirit Bear Adventures (www.spiritbear.com) offers four and seven day bear viewing tours within the only spirit bear conservancy in the world, the Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy.

 

 

Located in the remote British Columbia coastal village of Klemtu, in the heart of the famed Great Bear Rainforest, Spirit Bear Adventure's eco-cultural tours combine the rich history that surrounds these bears, as well as abundant wild life and nature viewing, with education on local First Nations culture.  A community-based ecotourism venture,  Spirit Bear Adventures is owned and operated by the Kitasoo/ Xaixais First Nation.  Rates for the guided tours are CDN$2175.00 for four days and CDN$3595.00 for seven days, based on two people or double occupancy.  Included in the tour package are:

 

Accommodation in the new $1.5 million Spirit Bear Lodge All meals and snacks while in Klemtu and on tour (breakfast, lunch and dinner) All transportation to the bear viewing and cultural sites Services of all tourism staff including naturalists and tour leaders Park fees and First Nations Permit Fees Once guests arrive to Klemtu via daily floatplane service from Vancouver or weekly BC Ferry service, a typical Spirit Bear tour day begins with a ride in a 10 passenger, enclosed cabin motorboat, which takes guests deep into inlets and fjords. After an hour or so of traveling, guests disembark onto land to hike the river mouths, tidal flats and old growth bear trails, searching for an encounter with the Spirit Bear and other abundant wildlife. The tours are accessible to anyone with a certain amount of agility but a high level of physical fitness is not required.

 

 

The Great Bear Rainforest is home to the world's only Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy. The Kitasoo/ Xai'xais First Nation have inhabited this geological region for thousands of years and their traditional territory is the location of Spirit Bear Adventure's eco-cultural tours.  The ancestral lands of the Kitasoo Xai'xais First Nation encompasses 5320 square kilometres and includes over 100 documented ancient cultural sites.

 

 

According to Tsimshian lore, the Kitasoo/Xaixais people, who have lived with these bears for thousands of years, have a myth about the white bears that says "Raven made one in every ten black bears white to remind the people of a time when glaciers covered this land and how the people should be thankful of the lush and bountiful land of today.”  Many of the Kitasoo/Xaixais believe the Spirit Bears hold super-natural powers, hence the name Spirit Bear – a name that suits its mythical like presence.

 

 

A less romantic explanation is that scientists believe that the presence of a single recessive gene in black bears is responsible for the white coat that as many as one in ten bears are born with and retain throughout their lives.

 

 

For more information and to book a tour, people may call 1-877-644-2346 or visit www.spiritbear.com.

 

-30-

 

[Back to Press Releases Main]