When you take a step ahead from adventures like camping or hiking, then comes the ultimate experience of exploring a rainforest. There is no internet, no light pollution, no out-worldly extravagant things, but only nature, peace, and you.

One such rainforest that I have visited and loved every aspect of is the Great Bear Rainforest, a benign rainforest that is located on the coast of the Pacific of British Columbia in Canada, consisting of nearly about 6.5 million hectares.

If you are also interested in exploring nature, you should visit the Great Bear Rainforest because it hosts a wide variety of flora, fauna, and old-growth forests. The place also has well-protected wildlife, such as different kinds of bears and many sea animals. But before that, I must tell you some interesting things about it.

1. White Fur Spirit Bear

The kermode, also known as the spirit bear, is a genetic variant of black bears. If you have ever heard this name, you must also know that it is found nowhere else on Earth but in the Great Bear Rainforest. Some areas in the rainforest include the highest number of known species of the spirit bear i.e. Grizzly bears. The different species of spirit bears are estimated to range from about 50 to 300.

a kermode bear (spirit bear) of the great bear rainforest in british columbia pic.twitter.com/7XbUoiG0HS

— ferelith (kyrotte) (@leafcharmer) January 20, 2024

The reason is still unknown why many recessive genes have allowed the bear to continue to evolve with white fur. Some people believe it is due to the continuous advantage of fishing without alarming the salmon of a dark shadow.

In Kitasoo First Nation legend, the only species that turned white fur in every 10 bears was a Raven, in honour of the ancient glacial period when everything was fully covered with ice.

2. Underwater Forest

What do you think of the Great Bear Rainforest when it first comes to your mind? You probably think of its nice-satiated trees, including a lush forest covered with different types of bears. Well, the place consists of pretty much all of these.

The Great Bear Rainforest Sea is home to many of the world’s largest kelp forests. Bull kelp is a kind of aquatic plant, some of them are perennial, which can grow up to about 120 feet tall and can grow up to 3 feet in one day. This makes it one of the largest, fastest-growing plants in the sea and on land. The kelp forests share a safe place for all types of marine creatures, from sea otters to rockfish, including everything between them.

The seawater forests construct a buffer zone from waves and ocean swells to protect the areas of intertidal and shorelines. The underwater forest of the rainforest consists of whale watching of humpback whales, sea lions, and many more.

3. Rich Diversity

Speaking about flora, the Great Bear rainforest consists of many old forests such as Western Red cedar and giant Sitka spruce that have frequently been growing for over 1000 years. The Rainforest supports more organic than any other ecosystem in the world, including Vancouver Island, Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, and many more.

4. Natural Habitat

The connection between the land and the underwater species is intertwined and enmeshed, and they rely on each other for their survival. I have come across many different creatures here, such as crabs, abalone, anemones, chitin, urchins, and many more.

Land animals range from rodents, and mink to wolves, mountain goats, deer, bears, and other rare wolverines. The junctions where the land meets the ocean are some of the most natural habitat regions of the bear rainforest.

5. Forest for Salmons

Photo by @daisygilardini | The best time to observe the elusive spirit bear in British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest is during the salmon run in September/October. This is when bears gather around the rivers to fish and teach their offspring how to catch salmon. pic.twitter.com/ZtOCRZp7rX

— Nat Geo WILD (@natgeowild) August 27, 2023

The main contributors to the rainforest are the forests rich with nutrients, with their vibrant and dense understory that the animals eat salmon- big and small. Around 2500 salmon are found there every year.

Pacific salmon consists of 5 different species: chinook (king/spring), coho, sockeye, chum and pink. They flood the streams of the rainforest to spawn and attract many kinds of predatory species to the estuaries and inlets, including seals, black bears, bald eagles, and blue herons.

When salmon are caught, they are brought back into the woods to be able to feed on them, and the remaining food starts decaying back into the soil of the earth, providing extra essential nutrients for the trees to turn into the unique coastal giants that we are eventually seeing today.

6. Home to Many Nations Communities

The history of the First Nations BC Coastal dates back more than 10,000 years ago. They have survived years after years on the abundance of this land and protecting the area both culturally and naturally­, which is of its utmost importance. Art of the First Coastal Nations, from the totem pole and carving of masks to weaving baskets and clothing of cedar bark, is highly regarded worldwide.

7. UniqueTraditions

The Bear Rainforest has its traditional ceremonies known as potlatches that take place along the central and north coasts. However, it was banned in 1961. Some ceremonies last for days, including traditional dances with masks and paddles made by the Nuxalk Nation, storytelling, feasts, and gift-giving through the Broughton archipelago.

The Coastal First Nations consists of people of the land, sky, and sea and are the strongest believers in protecting their area generation after generation.

8. Home for Whales

It was once believed that they got extinct from the area due to hunting, but the humpback whale and the other whales are making a massive comeback.

If you have any doubts in your mind, watch this interesting documentary on these forests to learn more-

The Great Bear Rainforest is an unspoiled temperate rainforest constituting a huge national geographic area and economic development. The forest provides a hilly hiking and hunting lodge that ensures the privacy act, protection, and experienced providers for any help to the visitors.

So, what are you waiting for? Visit the Rainforest with your friends and family to enjoy a spectacular treat in nature!

FAQs

Q. What is the best time to visit the Great Bear Rainforest?

• The best to visit the Rainforest is late August.

Q. Why is it called the Great Bear Rainforest?

• In the Canadian Raincoast Wilderness Report, published by the Raincoast Conservation Society in 1994, Peter McAllister (Ian’s father) coined the term “Great Bear Wilderness.” This referred to large wild areas of the B.C. central coast

Q. What are the threats to the Great Bear Rainforest?

• The main threat to the Rainforest is logging. A majority of logging in Great Bear is clearcut logging, meaning that 70 to 100% of trees are cleared, effectively destroying all the habitat of species, as well as wildlife corridors and migration routes.

Last Updated on April 8, 2024 by Pragya Chakrapani