The North American black bear is found only on this continent in association with forested landscapes. Scientists have identified 11 different subspecies of black bear, including the Kermode or spirit bear, in which about 1 bear in 10 is white or cream coloured. It is the unusually high occurrence of white bears in the population that makes the spirit bear unique, as white bears do occur very rarely in other populations of black bears in North America.

Where do spirit bears live?The spirit bear inhabits only one place on Earth: the central and north coast of British Columbia, Canada from about Rivers Inlet to Stewart.
Within this broad range of their occurrence, two genetic centres are recognized where white-phased individuals are more common, the Terrace-Nass-Hazelton area and the area centred on Princess Royal-Roderick & Pooley and Gribbell islands.
The areas around Terrace. B.C. have been heavily logged but bears there and their habitat are still in need of some protection.
The new 2006 spirit bear conservancy complex in the Princess Royal Island area will help protect the best intact areas on the B.C. coast. However, unless logging guidelines are significantly improved, most of the spirit bears' range outside of protected areas remains threatened by industrial forestry and other developments.thiss information ishttp://www.vws.org/project/spiritbear/about_bear/faq.html#2
A black spirit bear. There are both blackand white spirit bears