Pennsylvania Game News - March 2016 - 34

Rare Bears
Black bears aren't necessarily black.
Brown-phase black bears occur in
Pennsylvania, but account for less than
1 percent of the state's bear population,
said Game Commission bear biologist
Mark Ternent.
Both cinnamon bears and blondecolored bears are considered brownphase. And in some western states,
brown-phase bears can account for
more than 50 percent of the black bear
population.
Only about four to six brown-phase
bears a year are harvested by Pennsylvania hunters, Ternent said. White black
bears are extremely rare.
There are white-phase black bears,
which are sometimes called "spirit
bears," but one never has been documented in Pennsylvania, Ternent said.
These bears have dark eyes and black
noses, but their coats are white. The
white-phase is caused by a genetic
condition, Ternent said, and the highest concentration of white-phase bears
exists on an island off the coast of British Columbia.
Albino bears, like the one harvested
by Jeremy Gross, of Bloomsburg, have
white coats because of a complete lack
of pigment, and their eyes and noses
are pink in color as a result.
Ternent said he only knows of four
albino bears that have occurred in
Pennsylvania during his 15-year career
with the Game Commission.
A Centre County hunter harvested
an albino bear in 2007. And in 2014,
Ternent reviewed a trail camera photo
taken in Mifflin County that showed
two cubs that appeared white. In addition to the albino bear Gross harvested,
Ternent believes an albino bear was
harvested some time ago in Schuylkill
County, but he hasn't been able to
document it.
Albinism is seen somewhat more
frequently in other species, such as
deer and squirrels.
34

There were seven of us, and most
of the others still had their buck tags,
as well as their bear tags. I told them
I'd be glad to drive, or to go on stand.
Basically, I wanted them to hunt where
they thought they had the best chance of
filling one of their tags.
As you might expect, I was selected
as a driver. And on our second push, four
of us were to make our away around the
side of the mountain to three standers.
It can be a tough walk. The mountain
is a reclaimed strip mine, and it's peppered with boulders - some the size of
basketballs, some the size of Volkswagens. My walk was a little easier, since I
was low-man on this drive, and assigned
to walk around the base of the mountain.
We had been driving for a little bit,
and needed to stop for a moment so all
drivers could come into line with one
another.
We had just started back up when I
saw something about 80 yards up ahead
- a patch of gleaming white against the
gray, rocky background.

PATCH OF WHITE

The area we were driving had been
timbered a few years back. And since
it's on the sunny side of the mountain,
parts of it are thick with birch slashings
and briars.
The bear was in fairly thick cover,
but its white coat shined like the sun.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing,
but would I have enough time to get a
shot off?
The bear clearly was alert to our
presence, maybe because we just had
stopped to line up.
While the bear was lying down when
I first saw it, by the time I brought my
.270 short magnum to my shoulder, it
already was on its feet. It looked as if it

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - March 2016