Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Has a White Spirit Bear

Once again I'm writing a bear story for your reading pleasure. It's not a story about thousands of black bears in the Upper Peninsula.

This is a story about a white spirit bear. It's apparently a genetically rare black bear with white fur. And that's why experts call it a "Spirit Bear."

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According to mlive.com:

An approximately 100-pound male bear with blonde colorings appeared this month, September 2022, on a trail camera trained on a bait pile set up in advance of the annual bear hunting season. Wildlife officials said this is the first time in recorded Michigan history such an animal has been confirmed in the state.

That's something you don't see every day, but then again, who even see's a bear at any given moment in the Upper Peninsula.

I know this sounds crazy, but I have this thing about seeing an actual black bear or "Spirit Bear" sometime in the near future.  Either in the Lower or Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

I'm not sure what I would do if I came across a big black bear.  Would I just stand there and freak out or try and find the perfect hiding spot so the bear won't attack me. It certainly can't be that simple.

Mlive.com also tells us:

The bear has a nearly all-white coat, but with some cinnamon colorings on the top of its head and neck. This marks only the fifth time a "spirit bear" has been confirmed outside of British Columbia, which means this Michigan animal is genetically a one-in-a-million bear, according to the nonprofit North American bear Center in Ely, Minnesota.

I was just thinking to myself, maybe I should just stick to seeing bears in the circus instead of actually coming across one at an unexpected time.