VANCOUVER -- A group of researchers, who spent five years collecting and analyzing the fur of B.C.’s rare white spirit bears, have released some of their findings.

Spirit bears, found in central and northern coastal areas, are culturally significant to the Kitasoo Xaixais and Gitga’at First Nations, and the chance to see them in the wild attracts eco-tourists from around the world. The researchers wanted to know more about the diet and habitat needs of the bears, who carry a rare genetic mutation.

“There's a lot of interest for local First Nations’ governments to steward these bears, to make sure we're providing them adequate habitat and making land and marine decisions that benefit the bears,” said Christina Service, a researcher for the Kitasoo Xaixais First Nation.

Spirit bears are the same species as coastal black bears, but due to a rare genetic mutation, their fur is blond.

“Because of this rare genetic recessive trait, they have a strikingly white coat,” Service said.

However, some black-coated black bears are “sneaky carriers” of the gene. Although they carry the gene mutation in their DNA, they still appear black.

Her latest research, published in April, wasn’t conclusive, but offers hints about what food the spirit bears and black bears that carry the gene variant eat. It then compares it to black-coated bears who don't carry the gene variant.

“This piece in particular was looking at diets and sort of getting a sense of what type of diet looked important for these bears.”

Service is based out of Klemtu, a small town on the central coast of B.C., just north of Bella Bella. The study, done in partnership with the Kitasoo and Gitga’at First Nations, is one part of a long-term bear monitoring project, and received funding from academic research grants and several environmental groups including Raincoast Conservation Foundation and Tides Canada.

For this study, Service and her colleagues went out into the two Nations’ territories and bear habitat every spring between 2012 and 2017. There, they collected samples of bear fur, and then examined the chemical “signatures” on the strands of hair. To do this, they doused a pile of branches and moss with a stinky solution that attracts bears. They then placed barbed wire around the pile. When the bears approached the pile, some of their fur got caught on the wire.

“Bears in the spring are shedding or molting, so it’s the same as a household pet when you run your hand on the back and you instantly have a fistful of hair,” Service said.

“When they step over the barbed wire to check the smell, we get a chunk of their hair.”

If barbed wire seems like an aggressive material, you need not worry, she said.

“It actually just catches the hair, it doesn't harm the animal.”

The researchers collected fur from the three different types of black bears, and compared them. The results from the study aren’t “statistically significant” – meaning they aren’t conclusive and didn’t provide “really strong evidence” -- but provided hints about the role of salmon in the spirit bears’ diet.

The white spirit bears and the black “sneaky” gene carriers’ diets trended toward slightly elevated levels of “marine signatures.” In other words, the research points to a more salmon-based diet for carriers of the gene.

Previous research from other scientists has shown that the white spirit bear tends to be better at fishing than black bears during the daytime, with the thought being that it’s because they camouflage well with the sky, making it harder for salmon to evade them.

Service said it’s important to understand that her recent findings don’t show large differences between the diets, but that there’s “a little bit of information to take away from it.”

The results are interesting from a stewardship standpoint, she said, and align with what the Kitasoo Xaixais and Gitga’at First Nations have already said about the importance of salmon for spirit bears.

“Even though there's lots of uncertainties, still making sure that we're still doing our best to steward salmon for these bears and resources for these bears is really important,” she said.