#spirit bears

[bearotonin-international]

Hello fellow bear lovers! I have an oc who is a kermode bear centaur (human waist up, bear waist down)! I don’t get much practice drawing him though :/ could you give me some goofy kermode bear (or normal blackbear!) pictures i can use for practice?

so we know you didn't ask for this but the team's gonna nerd out for a couple minutes here and provide a couple fun facts about kermode bears (the team is procrastinating doing actual work). and then provide the requested photos as we always do :)

for anyone who doesn't know, kermode bears are a subspecies of black bears, and most kermode bears do not actually have white coats. kermode bears with white coats are called spirit bears (and only about 10-20% of kermode bears are spirit bears). the white of the spirit bear is a specific coat color morph that is much more genetically common in the kermode bear population. (there's a recessive mutant gene that must be present in both parents (bearants) for the cub to be a spirit bear).

(here's a funky lil graphic about spirit bear genetics)

so it's pretty common for kermode bear mixed families with cubs that are different colors from their mothers and/or each other

there is research suggesting two primary reasons the prominence of the white coat in kermode bears is because it gives the bears an advantage while fishing during the day time, because the fish are less likely to see their light coats from underwater (kermode bears are supremely skilled and successful slammers of salmon) (there's all kinds of fun facts about the dietary differences of spirit bears and kermode bears inhabiting the same reasons).

another reason for the prominence of spirit bears is because of positive assortative mating (aka white kermode bears breed more with other white kermode bears (and black kermode bears tend to breed more with other black kermode bears)) (one of the fun theories for why this occurs is that babies are more likely to imprint on their mother's coat color)

there's all kinds of other fun facts about spirit & kermode bears, but we've gone on long enough so

TLDR not all kermode bears are spirit bears but all spirit bears are kermode bears

okay now on to some silly kermode bears as actually requested

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Spirit Bears and Grizzly Bears at home in the Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia, Canada

Photographer: Nick Garbutt

[pangeen]

" Spirit Bear " //© Paul Nicklen

" The Great Bear Rainforest is a land of giant salmon-fed trees, mossy streams filled with fish, and black bears born with golden-white fur. For centuries, the existence of spirit bears or kermode bears was carefully guarded by people like the Gitga’at and Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nations, who consider the bears to be sacred. Only about one out of ten black bears in the region are born with the characteristic white fur thanks to a recessive genetic mutation carried within their DNA. The bears depend on the seasonal salmon migrations to survive the winters and, in turn, help support the local ecosystem by dragging their prey deep into the forest where the remains enrich the soil, allowing trees to reach unimaginable heights. Treading through the heart of the emerald forest is like stepping back to a time belonging solely to the wild forces of nature. "

[onbearfeet]

So I had this photo on my wall for years. It was a beautiful picture of a coyote in a rustic wood frame, a gift from a friend who bought the print from a small photographer on a vacation.

And then the friend and I had a falling out. I won't go into the details except to say that by the end, after a 20-year relationship, the friend was accusing me of endangering her children with my asexuality (?!) and I was fielding text messages from a veterinary professional informing me that the kitten would survive the surgery with only a minor limp and was quite sweet, actually, when she wasn't actively being tormented.

You know. One of those friend breakups.

I felt bad for the coyote. It wasn't his fault that I was sad about losing a friendship. But I WAS sad, and I couldn't stand to look at him. When I moved, I boxed him up and left him in the dark.

Today, I was thinking about how I needed an 8x10 picture frame to hang a nice giclee print in my new place, but money is tight right now...and then I remembered the coyote. That frame was 8x10, right? I thought I knew which box it was in.

So today, three years and change after I walked out of my former friend's house with a screaming cat in a cardboard box, there's something else in the frame.

This is a watercolor painting of a Kermode bear, aka a spirit bear. They're a rare color morph of the American black bear, with cream-colored fur rather than the usual black or brown, and they're profoundly sacred to several North American indigenous cultures. The forest in British Columbia where many of them live is a protected place known as the Great Bear Rainforest. And I find it fascinating that even when one of these cubs is born outside that area (which can happen--these are black bears with the equivalent of redhead genes), pretty much everyone looks at them and goes, "Oh, that's magic as fuck, and I'm not touching it."

I like that in a beast. So Kermode bears are my absolute favorite bears.

May we all find ways to replace our old wounds with something that is both beautiful and magic as fuck.

Also, if you'd like your own, here's where I bought the jpg that I took to a local giclee printer.

[grizzly-bear-official]

Dost thou have photographs of Kermode bears?

but soft! what bear through yonder forest breaks? it is the spirit bear...

(source)

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didst thou know that all black bears living in the central and north coast regions of the british columbia area are called 'Kermode bears'? including those with black fur. only the white-coated bears are called Spirit Bears.

[baby-bigfoot]

Spirit Bear Pattern, available on a variety of products.

To order, click on the image.

[overzealous-imagination]

So while rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender recently, I noticed a trend

A number of spirits we see have an animal form, specifically animals we recognize as "normal" for us. For example:

- Wan Shi Tong is an owl and his knowledge seekers are foxes

- Tui and La are koi fish

- Hei Bai is a panda

-The guardian of the mother of faces is a wolf (The Search)

Heck there's even the talking Baboon spirit and the monkey missing its face that we see in the Spirit World at the end of Season 1.

Basically every time we've seen a "normal" animal, they've been a spirit.

My point? I argue that Bosco is a spirit bear that's chilling and living the good life in the mortal world just because he can.

[dcxdpdabbles]

DCxDP Fic Idea: The Contact, the Butler and the Sly Time Lord

Martha accidentally engaged Bruce to a higher being when he was two.

It sounds terrible, but she hadn't thought that the man wearing the Time ghost costume at her husband's Halloween Gala wasn't wearing a costume and was actually the physical embodiment of Time.

She just thought he took Halloween very seriously.

Mr. Clockwork was charming and didn't care that she had married from the lower level of first class. Her parents were rich, of course, but they weren't old money, and they certainly didn't have a lot of power to speak of.

Because of that, the elites of Gotham thought she wasn't good enough to be in a family such as the Waynes. It was so lovely not to be dragged into conversations that were thinly concealed insults.

Everyone else at the Gala thought Martha had no right to be there with them. Why was she just a few zeros off from being middle class, and wasn't it just so sad that Thomas would stain his family with her?

Secertly, Martha prayed Bruce would do something wild, like marry a girl from Crime Alley or even adopt kids in lower classes to make them all choke on their pearls.

Her son would be one of the most powerful men in a few years, and she couldn't wait to see what kind of hell he would unleash upon them. She would never push, of course, but it would be a nice fantasy to have every time she had to face passive-aggressive comments from ladies told by their fathers they would be a far better Mrs. Wyane.

" Why, hello there. Aren't you the cutest little thing?" Mr. Clockwork coos, smiling down at Bruce. He clung to his mother's skirt, his matching cowboy costume a miniature version of what she was wearing.

The boy had wandered over in the middle of their conversation once he was bored of coloring at his table. Martha couldn't blame her poor baby. There really wasn't much to do for those his age here.

Thomas had stated that children were usually not brought along due to being loud and distracting.

Martha wouldn't hear any of it, insisting her son would be going with them at the party or there would be no party. The majority of the elites believed children should be seen, not heard, and that boiled her blood something fierce.

Thomas had thankfully known when to pick his battles, so he allowed his wife to drag him to a costume store for a family costume to wear. He currently chatting with a group of investors in all his cowboy glory somewhere on the other side of the gala.

"Say thank you, Bruce," She tells her boy, but he only hides his face more, causing the two adults to chuckle. "Do you have kids, Mr.Clockwork?"

"Yes. Two daughters and a son" The man chuckles "All three are a handleful but I love them dearly."

"Oh, how wonderful. Bruce is my only son, but I want to give him siblings," she tells him warmly. She can picture Bruce chasing after his younger siblings dressed up as the Grey Ghost he loves.

She knows Thomas was worried about their chances of having a second child. He was informed not too long ago that he may suffer from secondary infertility. She didn't mind. If they couldn't have a child of their own by blood they could easily adopt.

Martha worked long and hard to provide good orphanages to the city. Maybe one day, a child from there could be her own. She'll have to speak to her orphanage managers- those in charge of the kids- to see if they could help her find one.

They have successfully been getting kids into good homes (At least she thought the number of children constantly changed, and the kids were never seen again, meaning the families that adopted them loved them enough to never return!)

Mr. Clockwork hums "how about giving him a spouse instead? My girls or boy could be a good partner"

Laughing, she assumes he meant her work on bettering the lives of the gay community- in honor of her brother who passed during the AIDs epidemic. "I'm sure Bruce would be happy to hear Mommy found him a husband."

"Is that a yes?" Clockwork eyes' flashed with an emotion that was gone too quick for her to identify.

"Yes, of course. If that is what they both want, I wouldn't mind their marriage at all."

Mr. Clockworks red eyes - contacts? A medical condition?- gleam, and his voice takes on a strange rhythm. "Then so shall it be, my son Danny Fenton shall be married to Bruce Wayne per their Blood Mother and Core Father deal."

Huh. Maybe Mr. Clockwork is a nutcase. Suddenly, she thinks back to her father, who would often tell her that she lived in a delusion because he did not want her to see the horror that Gotham truly is.

Even when you think you're doing good, Gotham has a way of making your work into nightmares.

Was Mr. Clockwork one of those people he warned her about?

Thankfully, he leaves not long after that. He claims he must return to work before his co-workers notice him gone. She doesn't see him for the rest of the night and half wonders if she had been speaking to one of the wait staff they hired as extra help.

Not that she minded, but it made her think his name might not even be Clockwork.

She tells Thomas the story hours after Bruce is put to bed with a candy bucket and the last guests have all slipped home. Thomas is exhausted, having been playing host longer than her because Martha had left around eight to take Bruce trick and treating. Then she got home and put him down for his bedtime.

She got back to the party around eleven but it was a much-needed break from all the hostility that Thomas had been forced to face alone.

"WHAT!?" Thomas booms when she finishes the story. They had just crawled into bed, and Thomas had been rolling to his side for sleep before her words flung him back. "Clockwork!? You're sure you spoke to Clockwork!?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"What did he look like?"

"Um well he was in costume, but red eyes, blue skin, and he was wearing purple robes." She watches as the blood drains from her husband's face. "What is it darling? Who was he?"

"Oh, this isn't good....Alfred! Alfred!" Thomas frantically calls as if the devil had appeared in their bedroom.

Their servant and sometimes lover comes racing into the room, carrying a loaded shotgun. Ever since Thomas had met him overseas when he hired the British man as a personal bodyguard, he fell hard and fast for Alfred but he still deeply loved Martha.

He had sent Martha a letter detailing his feelings for his guard, and only after she had given him permission did he pursue the butler. Alfred had insisted on meeting Thomas' wife to prove that she was okay with him having a lover, so he had followed Wayne back home.

Then he simply never left.

Maybe because he was the best butler Wayne ever had, with his regal training and service in her royal highness' army, but she thinks that her own developed feelings for Alfred convince him to remain.

Alfred insisted that he was only a servant and thus could not be added to their marriage besides a bed partner occasionally. Still, Martha hoped one day they could convince him otherwise.

Bruce already saw him as a second father.

He looks at the pair, dressed in their nightwear in a rather enticing position (Thomas had grabbed Martha by her shoulder, to look into her eyes but that left them rather entangled on the bed) with no visible threat, and raises one brow.

Before he can say anything Thomas is all but rolling out of bed in a frantic leap. He tangles up in the blankets, falling gracelessly over the edge in failing limbs "Martha made a deal with Clockwork!"

At once, Alfred's handsome face drains of blood. "Oh dear, Martha darling, you made a grave mistake."

She can only blink at the men in confusion. "Who is Clockwork?"

"He has many names, but I knew him as Merlin," Alfred informed her evenly. He took her hand in his, the tremble in his fingers revealing his unease. " He had shown interest in Master Thomas before and was the one I protected him from. I barely fought him off and only due to outsmarting him. I would not be able to do it again a second time."

What?

"He is also known as a Fae or incubus in some circles. The kind that steals you away for fun." Thomas babbled from where he was pacing next to the bed, eyes franticly glancing about as if the bogggie man was about to leap out at him from the shadows.

For a moment, Martha wondered why her husband, a man of science and medicine who had never been superstitious, believed this Clockwork was some...some creature of myths.

"Martha, love, what did he ask of you?" Alfred questioned, bringing her hand to his lips as though kissing them would confirm she was safe before him.

"He asked for Bruce to marry his son."

"Oh, gods!" Thomas fretted, speeding up, his long strides becoming far more frantic. "Please say you didn't say yes."

"I-thought it was a joke, I didn't see anything wrong with it, I- said yes."

Alfred closed his eyes, looking like a man who had just been informed his death sentence had been signed by the Queen. "Then all we can do now is pray."

Years later, as Alfred is dusting the portrait of his deceased loves. He allowed his hand to trace the cover of Martha's painted smile and Thomas' strong jaw, mind filled with stolen kisses and sweet nothings that were ripped away that fateful night.

He is still struck by their loss. Every now and then, the knowledge of their death creeps in during his most mundane activities. It's like a kick to the chest every time.

Oh, how he misses them.

Ding Dong

The front doorbell jolts him out of his memories so violently it takes the aged Butler a moment or two to get a hold of his senses. He puts down the duster, climbs down the latter, and quickly makes his way to the door.

Stopping to fix his suit coat, he throws it open with a prepared smile. He expects extra help from the catering company Master Bruce hired for Wayne's annual Halloween Gala.

He was not expecting the two men, one looking nervous around Master Bruce's age and the other sly. His age is hard to gauge, but it may be due to time not affecting him as it did mortals.

Alfred's blood freezes at the sight of those cunning red eyes and smirk. "Merlin."

"Alfred Pennyworth." The demon chuckles. "I prefer Clockwork, as you know, but it's good to see you remember me. Most humans are prone to forgetting in their limited age."

"What are you doing here?"

"Why I came to fulfill the deal between Martha Wayne nee Kane and I"

"Martha is dead. Your contact is void."

Clockwork chuckles again, the sound as deadly as poison. "The contact lives as long as all those involved in it live. You know this."

Alfred presses the panic button on his wristwatch, knowing it sends a message to everyone in the manor to evacuate immediately. He will not live through this battle, but hopefully, it will give Master Bruce time to escape. "You will not lay a hand on Master Bruce."

"Come now, Alfred. We are to be in-laws. Our sons are joining in holy matrimony. Why the hostility-"

"Excuse me what?" The other man-demon? Ghost? Higher-being? cuts in, looking at Clockwork with brows knitted into a frown. "What did you mean holy matrimony?"

"Danny, you're getting married," Clockwork says with a cheerful wave.

"The hell I am!" The man barks, flushing red with anger. Alfred can hardly believe he just yelled at the monster. "I am not marrying some random guy!"

"It is the way things must go for the good of mankind-"

"Oh, go suck on a lemon! We both know that whole "this is fate" is bull!"

"You are embarrassing me in front of our new in-laws, younn man" Clockwork actually waves a finger at the fully grown human. "This is my one chance to marry you off to a good man. We both know that you can't attract a mate on your own."

"What!? Yes, I can! I've had girlfriends and boyfriends before!"

"And yet, no spouse! No wedding! Not even a ring!"

"Moby Dick, I knew this bonding fishing trip was a lie! You can't make me get married because of some contact you made when I was three!"

"It's not permanent! Martha Wayne said If that is what they both want, I wouldn't mind their marriage at all. This means you both must want to be together after one year of marriage. See if you like it, and if you don't, I can always find you a new husband."

"This isn't returning a jacket to a store! I can't just see if I like being married Clockwork!" The man hissed running a hand through his hair. "We're going home. I'm so sorry for bothering you today Mr. Alfred."

Alfred blinks at the young man's sheepish smile, wondering if ti's a trick. "No bother at all."

"Danny, if you leave without marriage, Bruce Wayne will die in an hour due to breaking our contract," Clockwork says, crossing his arms. "Honestly, your sisters were far more mature regarding their marriages."

Danny punches him in the face with a glowing hand. The higher being falls like a sack of bricks.

"Right, I'm going to drop this one off at a nursing home, and then I'll return to marry Bruce. Only so the contact doesn't kill him, and I swear I'll only visit every once in a while until our year is up." Throwing- Merlin, holy shit- over his shoulder as if though he weighed nothing, Danny waves at Alfred and scurries away, vanishing into a green portal.

Alfred is left standing at the doorway, utterly flabbergasted. Distantly, he wonders if the hollowing wind is actually Martha laughing herself silly in the afterlife.

Carefully, he reaches up for his com, switching it on to the sound of his family's frantic bickering. They were all worried about him since he sent the alarm and were fighting about following policy or saving him.

"Master Bruce," He says faintly silencing the coms "Please come to have your suit fitted as soon as you can."

"What for?" His son asks, likely looking for a coded message, but Alfred doesn't have the mental capacity to make one.

"Your wedding, sir. It's tonight, courtesy of your mother."

The coms explode into chaos.

[yelloowcars]

YELLOWJACKETS + SPIRITUAL ANIMAL + COLORS

Heyy! I've been working on these ones, and I finally finished them today :)) This is mostly based on my own research and the way I perceive them 🥸

[seafoamdew]

I’d give anything. Just let him live.

[anderwater]

“I think the biggest thank you goes to everybody on The Bear” AYO EDEBIRI wins BEST SUPPORTING in BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES | 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards

[the-silver-peahen-residence]

||The cursed treasure hunt||

reserved au rp with @demon-blood-youths

"Anything yet?" Megumi blinks to hear this but he looks from his cell phone. He didn't know what was going on, giving the thought that something might have happened. Gojo was told Kisho still was on his on going mission to find the cursed items that came from that party. However, it leaves another wondering what was going on. He did have some help along the way so it was something.

Right now, Megumi was told by Gojo to check on him but he was not answering the text messages he sent a while ago. "I don't think so. I can try to call him and see if he can answer the phone instead. Or maybe something is effecting the signal."

"I guess that's possible but give it a shot." Yuji said. Megumi nods and goes to do that, seeing Kisho's number and hits speed dial and waits for him to find something.

"I'm sure they are fine you two..just call them and we will see their fine." Nobara said. Miko agrees hoping they were alright. She wanted to go with them but she was still on stand by to recover.

"S..same here..." she mutters seeing Megumi still waiting for Kisho to pick up.

[crybabyboyscout]

[atarial]

finished updating my old bears picture!

the panda and polar bear are completely redrawn, the brown bear has a new face, and it's all just had a go over and touch up

[lionfloss]

White Spirit Bear hunts for fish on Riordan Creek

[grizzly-bear-official]

Are spirit bears albino, or is it some other mutation? Being albino can really hurt it's eyesight.

thanks for asking! i've answered a similar question before, but i think it was lost to the great grizzly bear official accidental blog deletion event, so i'll talk about it again here.

spirit bears are not albino black bears. they're black bears with a rare double-recessive gene mutation. this mutation prevents pigment from being produced in the fur, but the skin and eyes of the bear still produce pigment. below is a picture of a spirit bear (left) compared to a picture of an albino black bear (right).

as you can see, the spirit bear has a dark nose and dark eyes, while the albino black bear has a pink nose and red eyes. the difference is admittedly subtle, and it's hard to tell from far away.

an extra little factoid for you: spirit bears actually benefit from having white fur! fish have a harder time seeing spirit bears than black-furred bears, giving spirit bears a slight hunting advantage.