You may have heard of the rare white bears, also known as Spirit Bears, which live in British Columbia. The thing that makes these bears so special, besides being white, is that they are Black Bears that have a single recessive gene that makes their coats white. Only one out of ten of these bears is born with this white coat and retains it throughout their lives. Scientists are conducting DNA analysis on the bear so that they can determine how common it is elsewhere on the continent. Researchers have been analyzing fur samples from “rubbing” trees used by the bears, and have set out snares across trails to capture hairs to examine for genetic information.

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