One-in-a-Million White Spirit Bear Seen in Michigan: ‘Sign of Great Change’

One-in-a-Million White Spirit Bear Seen in Michigan: ‘Sign of Great Change’

Ed Browne for Newsweek

A spirit bear has been spotted in Michigan for the first time. The one-in-a-million white-colored bear is considered a symbol of change for Indigenous peoples. Spirit bears are a type of black bear, but instead of dark fur they have white or cream-colored fur and nearly white claws. They are not polar bears or albinos; their coloring is down to a different genetic condition.

There are only about 100 spirit bears in the world, according to the North American Bear Center. Most of them live in a couple of islands along the coast of British Columbia in Canada: Princess Royal and Gribbell islands. read more

Hair From Ghostly Bears Reveals New Genetic Secrets

Hair From Ghostly Bears Reveals New Genetic Secrets

First Nations peoples along British Columbia’s Central Coast led research to help preserve the area’s white-furred Spirit bears.

Lesley Evans Ogden for The New York Times

Douglas Neasloss was skeptical that Spirit bears existed. A member of the Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nation in Canada, he had heard the stories of white-furred bears that roamed British Columbia’s rainforest. But Mr. Neasloss, a former tour leader and cultural interpreter, had never seen one until 2005, when he experienced “one of the most magical moments” of his guiding career. During a hike, he caught sight of a cinnamon-tinged white bear as it walked out ahead of him, then lay down 50 feet away to munch on a freshly caught salmon. read more

Large pride of lions spotted in the Kruger National Park

by Erene Oberholzer for TheSouthAfrican.com

An overseas visitor recently caught 15 Lions – one of the largest pride of Lions ever spotted in the Kruger National Park – on camera.

Ram Goyel was reportedly so mesmerized by his astonishing lion encounter one day on the H6 near Satara that his heart was literally beating outside of his chest.

To his greatest delight, the white lion was among this pride as well.

Ram told Latestsightings.com:

“We were just returning from the N’wanetsi Picnic spot and this beautiful sighting came along and greeted us. It was a quiet morning and there were no other cars at the time. It was sheer disbelief!

“In the end, my family and I were jumping out of our skin. We were so lucky and thankful that the lions were walking towards us. I pulled over to the side and just let them come to us. My hand was shaking with exhilaration so the video is not perfectly still I’m afraid.

“The sighting ended a few minutes later when a few other cars showed up, and then literally pushed the lions off the road into the bushes.”

White Whale Spotted Off North East Coast of New Zealand

By Ryan Dunlop, Reporter, NZ Herald

A rare white humpback whale was spotted off the coast of Gisborne. Expert Ingrid Visser says it is likely Migaloo, a white humpback known to frequent Australian waters.

A white humpback whale sighted off the coast of the North Island is a significant find, according to whale biologist and expert Dr Ingrid Visser.

It is likely the whale is Migaloo, a famous white humpback found in Australian waters, or the first sighting of a new white whale, both extremely rare finds.

Commercial cray fisher Joshua Whitley was out casting pots about 16km off the coast of Gisborne when he noticed something strange near the boat.

"I just happened to look up and see a whale spout. We decided to go over and have a look."

Upon approach Whitley noticed something wasn't quite right with one of the whales - "It was completely white".

White Chipmunks in Worcester, Mass.

By George Barnes for the Telegram & Gazette Staff

WORCESTER — Hoping to give his mother something pleasant to look at off her balcony at Plantation Towers, Bill Chappell set up a bird feeder and spread some seeds on the ground in a garden space near the parking lot.

He got a lot of birds, but he also attracted a couple of nature’s oddities. “I put out the seeds, and I was out watching birds, when I noticed something white,” he said. “It was an albino chipmunk.”
read more

Rare White Orca spotted in Bering Sea

June 11, 2018 by Pete Thomas

A white orca has been spotted by Russian researchers near the Commander Islands in the Bering Sea.

The extremely rare sighting was of a leucistic female orca that had not been documented in several years.

Russian Orcas, a research group, announced the sighting early Monday on Facebook:

“On the first day of our fieldwork in the Commander Islands, we encountered a large aggregation of several groups, including one with a white individual.

“Not the famous Iceberg this time, but the female CO210 also known as ‘Mama Tanya’ (named after the main photo ID researcher of our project Tatiana Ivkovich, who is also blonde).

“CO210 was encountered for the first time in 2009 and re-sighted several times in 2010, but then disappeared for a long time. We are happy to greet her again!”

White Bison “Ghostbuster” expecting in Hays, Missouri

Baby bison born in Hays; more calves expected

May 14, 2018 byCristina Janney

Hays Post

The city of Hays welcomed two baby bison to its herd last week at Frontier Park.

Jeff Boyle, director of the city’s parks department, said the bison’s keeper thinks all five of the cows in the herd will likely have calves this season, including the herd’s white bison, sometimes referred to as Ghostbuster.

The bull in the herd does not exhibit any albino traits, so it is unknown if Ghostbuster would have a white or brown calf.

Rare White Deer Fawn in Wisconsin

Photo courtesy of Trent Zimmerman.
Just moments after finding the only morel of the day near a cluster of elm trees, Zimmerman and Maggie walked a few steps and surveyed the forested landscape.

Twenty yards ahead stood a tiny four-legged form shining like a full moon in the shaded woods: a white deer fawn.

The deer locked eyes with what were likely the first human and dog it had seen in its young life.

"We just sort of pulled up in shock," said Zimmerman, 38. "What a sight."

The fawn was standing, Zimmerman said, but didn't try to run.

The fawn tottered on its spindly legs as Maggie, a 1-year-old Labrador retriever, walked over to investigate. Zimmerman can be heard on the video telling his dog to back off, an order to which Maggie promptly complied.

As with all young wildlife, it's important to leave fawns where they are found. An adult is likely near and will return soon. Female deer will leave their offspring in grassy or brushy areas and return several times a day to feed them. The process continues until the fawns are strong enough to run and follow the doe.

White animals are also revered in American Indian lore.

White Bison Spotted in Park County, Colorado

Image Credit: Coleen Graybill

Life on the Summit: Hey, Spike! writes on Graybills and white bison

by Miles F. Porter IV

It was two rare white wildlife species — a red-tailed hawk in the San Luis Valley and a bison in Park County — that brought about this week's column.

...

Knowing Native American folklore about the spirituality of albino-like creatures piqued Coleen's interest. read more

Film & Pictures of White Sacred Animals

Film & Pictures of White Sacred Animals

Sacred White Animals herald both a Blessing and a Warning Apart from the prophesized white Buffalos (which are among the most sacred animals a person could ever encounter), other rare and beautiful white animals have begun to appear the world over: Lions, Servals, Giraffes, Zebras and Gorillas; Robins, Foxes, Sparrows, Bats and Hedgehogs; Tigers, Elephants, Raccoon Dogs, Pythons, Cobras, Monkeys, Leopards and Peacocks; Kangaroos, Wallabies, Kookaburras, Koalas, Possums, Emus, Echidna and Kiwi; Ravens, Crows, Deer, Black Bear, Skunks, Moose, Squirrels, Pronghorns, Coyotes, Horned Owls, Hummingbirds, Rheas, Pumas, Rattlesnakes, Alligators and Lynx and Whales, Penguins, Fur Seals, Dolphins and Sea Turtles, with many appearing in the last four years, or directly before, during or after world events that call for peace and global unity.

According to Chief Arvol Looking Horse, traditional leader of the Lakota clan of the Sioux nation and 19th generation Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Bundle, the appearance of these white animals heralds a time of great urgency for the Earth and humanity as a whole. It is said that the appearance of such unusually coloured animals is a sign; an omen calling for us to unite as a People and walk as One; to see past the colour of our neighbours skin or the ancestry of their people and to come together and embrace them as brothers, sisters and all-related children of the Earth Mother.

Rare White Crocodile Spotted In Australia

Watch on Coast to Coast AM

Tourists aboard a wildlife cruise in Australia were treated to an incredibly rare sight when they spotted a mature white crocodile swimming in the water.

The ghostly reptile, believed to measure around 10 feet long and given the nickname 'Pearl,' was seen on the Adelaide River during an excursion by the Spectacular Jumping Crocodile Cruise.

While the condition is not altogether uncommon in crocodiles, the fact that the creature was able to survive its childhood, when the pale animal would have been particularly vulnerable to predators, is seen as quite remarkable.