Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:11 PM Elusive WHITE black bear - known as a 'spirit bear' - seen frolicking on ... trends now

 A 'one-in-a-million' black bear with white fur was spotted traversing the Michigan wilderness earlier this month, in a sighting that wildlife officials have since hailed as one of the rarest in recent history.

The 100-pound bear - which looks like something straight out of a fairy tale  - was spotted in the western Upper Peninsula, a region of The Great Lake State where bears are in abundance.

With that said, the bear's appearance was just about the only common thing about the sighting.

Distinct from polar bears or albinos, black bears with white fur are the result of a one-in-a-million chance where both the bear's male and female parents bred and produced a recessive gene for white fur.

Spotting one of the colorless bears is a rare feat anywhere - however, in America, the sighting is especially unusual, due to the fact that bear genetics spread across the North American continent provides a much smaller chance of white or blonde colorings.

Currently, the phenomenon is almost exclusively confined to western Canada, home to a certain subspecies of the American black bear sometimes born with blonde colorings.

Originally called 'Spirit Bears' by Native American who once roamed the then-rough American landscape, the sighting of the elusive, all-white critter is the first in state history, and the first time one was filmed in the US in nearly 20 years.

Wildlife officials in the region, meanwhile, are keeping their eyes peeled for the elusive beast, who is danger of being poached during the ongoing hunting season, which ends October 14. 

Photos of the Michigan bear were taken by a camera trap - an automatic device that can be set up on a trail to take a picture when it detects movement. The news was first reported by MLive.

The footage was captured by a resident of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and shared with the agency. 

'I thought it was just too cool,' said Cody Norton, a carnivore specialist with the local Department of Natural Resources. 

Norton remarked to MLive exactly how rare the discovery was in his neck of the woods.

'It's just exciting seeing an animal pop up like this here instead of somewhere else,' Norton told the outlet, adding that while the department has yet to confirm the male bear actually has white fur - but based on the footage, they are fairly certain it does.

'We've had some cinnamon color phases show up, some blonde and chocolate on some trail cameras we use for surveys, which is also really cool to see,' Norton said.

'But those are more common in bear populations. White is its own thing.'

As Norton says, the animal in question is not your average bear: It boasts a nearly all-white coat, with some cinnamon colorings on the top of its head and neck, the photos show.

The sighting marks just the fifth time a 'spirit bear' has been spotted outside of Canada - meaning the Michigan animal is a one-in-a-million genetical anomaly, according to the nonprofit North American Bear Center in Ely, Minnesota.

'So very cool. Very beautiful animal,' said Norton of the discovery, which he said is particularly important due to potential scientific research possibilities if they continue to observe the otherworldly critter. 

Norton added that since the recessive 'white' gene is present chiefly among the Canadian subspecies, called Kermode bears, it 'makes sense they show up more in the population.'  

'But for one to show up in a large, widely connected population, it's much much more rare.' 

The all-white phenomenon, according to experts, are more common in the US' neighbor to the north due to the fact that hey are isolated from the larger black bear population on the North American continent.

Kermode bears, meanwhile, live on a chain of islands along the Pacific coastline of British Columbia, were roughly 10-20 percent of the population has white fur. This is because the recessive genes turn up more often in the animals' more limited gene pool, Renowned bear expert Lynn Rogers of the Wildlife Research Institute said.

'So, there are a few genes in this area,' the longtime bear researcher, who is based in Minnesota, told MLive of the magnitude of the recent discovery. 'It's a double-recessive gene. And if there are fewer of those genes here, it's going to be rare that you get a double-recessive combination.' 

It is not yet known if the bear spotted this month possesses any genetic connection to the Kermode bears in Canada, with DNR officials not normally required to seek out a bear to confirm its existence based on its color.

DNR officials do, however, investigate sightings of bears, cougars, and other large carnivores.

The original owner of the camera that managed to capture the bear - which appeared to be rummaging through bear bait left at the site when it was photographed - first shared the photographs to social media, which were subsequently sent to DNR officials earlier this week. 

And while state wildlife experts are eager to track the almost-mythical beast, they have not been able to do so due to the ongoing bear hunting season that started on September 7 and extends

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