Characteristics

 

Life

Age and cubs

– Takes 7 months to give a birth to a cub(mostly two) in their dens during late winter

-Takes 2 years to venture out on their own &  takes 4 years to reach their sexual maturity.

Fully grown weight between 200 – 300 pounds and live for around 25 years in the wild.

Food

An Omnivore and relies on berries,nuts,fruits,roots,grasses and other plants, insects, deer and carrions for food.

• Salmon – Spirit bear’s most important food source.

• During the critical feeding time in the fall when the majority of a bears’ fat is puton, 95%of the spirit bear’s diet is made up of salmon.

– The spirit bear must put on enough fat during the late spring, summer, and early fall in order to have enough body mass to survive their deep sleep during the winter months – which can last up to seven months on the BC coast.

-The spirit bear relies on the old-growth rainforest habitat for many of its features; the old trees are most important to costal BC bears because they use the hollow for winter dens – which make an intact ecosystem so vital to the survival of the spirit bear.