“The uniqueness of this cub is that it’s not a pure white, but rather a caramel-cream, very light brown in color,” says the author.
According to de Jong, this judgment is supported by the cub’s pink snout and lack of any discernible coloring. The noses of spirit bears are black.
The recent finding of a virtually white bear cub in the area’s mountains, according to Whistler bear specialist Michael Allen, is the first he’s seen in 23 years of research.
He wrote earlier this week in an entry to his daily bear viewing report, “I have seen cubs ranging [from] black, reddish-brown, chocolate-brown to blonde (after summer bleaching of coat), but, never have [I] seen a cub with pelage this light to almost white.”
Last week, tour guide Kathy Jenkins noticed the unusual pup playing with a local black mother bear. A few days after Jenkins initially caught a sight of the cub, Arthur De Jong claims to have seen it playing with its mother on (Exact location withheld) on Thursday.
Such a bear has never before been sighted in the ski region, according to the environmental planning manager of (Exact location withheld), who took some pictures of it when he saw it “pure by chance.”
According to De Jong, bear cubs have a 50/50 chance of surviving their first year, and he worries that the “little guy” will eat trash and develop a habit of approaching people.
De Jong claims that specialists now believe it to be albino because, unlike a kermode, it lacks pigmentation and a black nose.
