First Nations, B.C.

First Nations, B.C. government move to ban black bear hunting in an effort to protect rare spirit bears Black bears in Kitasoo/Xai’xais, Gitga’at territories likeliest to carry rare genetic trait, researchers say The B.C. government has banned the hunting of black bears in the territories of the Kitasoo/Xai'xais and Gitga'at First Nations in the Great Bear Rainforest, in response to a joint proposal by the nations to protect one of the rarest bear species on the planet: the spirit bear. "This is the only part of the world where you'll likely find a spirit bear," said Douglas Neasloss, co-ordinator for the Kitasoo/Xai'xais Stewardship Authority (KXSA). "Anytime someone shoots a black bear, it could be carrying that recessive gene so we wanted to see that hunt over." Spirit bears, also known as kermode bears or moksgm'ol in the Tsimshian language, are black bears with a white coat — the result of a recessive gene found in about one in 10 black bears in British Columbia's Central and North Coast regions, according to research from the University of Victoria in collaboration with the nations. The B.C. government announced the new regulations on July 1, which include stipulations on hunting closures covering 8,158 square kilometres of Kitasoo/Xai'xais and Gitga'at territories, and approximately 13 per cent of the Great Bear Rainforest. It is a region wildlife biologists say is home to the highest concentration of black bears possibly carrying the rare gene. Neasloss says this is the only part of the world where spirit bears appear. "It's just such a rare thing to see something so beautiful and white just come out of a dark green forest," he said. "It's one of the most magical things you can see." Saving bears takes a lot of gas. This B.C. rescue says it needs more funds to keep doing the work In an emailed statement to CBC News, the B.C. Ministry of Forests said the "no-hunting area expands on existing closures to cover areas where the highest concentration of genetic mutation occurs and aligns with Indigenous knowledge."