Glacier bear
The glacier bear, sometimes referred to as the "blue bear", is a subspecies of American black bear with silver-blue or gray hair endemic from Southeast Alaska, to the extreme northwestern tip of British Columbia, and to the extreme southwest of the Yukon. The Tlingit name for the glacier bear is a reference to their size, elusiveness, and ability to visually blend into snowfields: "sik noon", which means "a bear that disappears". Little scientific knowledge exists of their total extent and the cause of their unique coloration. Most other black bears in southeast Alaska are listed under the subspecies Ursus americanus pugnax.
The USDA Forest Service lists U. a. emmonsii as one of several subspecies of black bears, although no evidence supports the subspecies designation other than hair coloration.
Unique features
The chief feature distinguishing the glacier bear from other black bears is its pelage, which ranges from silvery blue to gray. The subspecies was reported by William Healey Dall in 1895. This variation can be seen on individual bears that are often lighter on their backs and shoulders, with their legs and belly being much darker or even black.Habitat and range
The glacier bear's habitat ranges have been reported to be the Alaskan coastal areas between Cross Sound and Cape St. Elias and from Prince William Sound to Glacier Bay in southeast Alaska, with a few sightings as far east as Juneau, Alaska, and the Taku River that flows between British Columbia and Alaska. This region includes Glacier Bay National Park and portions of Tongass National Forest, a temperate rainforest preserve. Glacier bears have also been reported in the extreme northwestern tip of British Columbia and to the extreme southwest of the Yukon. Few studies document the subspecies' range in association with other black bears. See for instance Hall's 1981 The Mammals of North America.Glacier bears share most of the characteristics of black bears such as their habitat preferences, food sources, size, and reproductive cycles. They prefer forest with thick understory and landscapes with abundant vegetation, but can be found in urban populated areas. The glacier bear habitat is dependent upon food source availability, and they move between forest, meadows, streams, and mountains in search of food and shelter. Black bears in general are very capable climbers and can use trees as a place of protection and refuge. Glacier bears move into their dens in early winter, which can be an overturned tree, a rock ledge, or a cave.