DCHP-2

Kermode bear [< Francis Kermode, 1874-1946, former Director of the B.C. Provincial Museum] DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

• 1

  a subspecies of the black bear, Ursus americanus kermodei.

  • 1964  The Kermode bear has been written up in a number of "popular" articles, none of which mention that most Kermode bears are black.
  • 1964  Best said the bear is a Kermode bear, found only on Princess Royal and surrounding islands. About 2½ years old, he weighs more than 200 pounds.

• 2

  the white or creamy-white color phase of this bear.

  See also: white bear (def. 3)  

  • 1958  . . . it involves a transition from the sea otter, the hair seal, and the little cream-coloured Kermode bear to the Stone sheep, the moose, and the grizzly bear of the Rockies.
  • 1964  . . . a habitat group of white phase Kermode bears at the Provincial Museum [Victoria] . . . no doubt contributed to the generally held, but erroneous belief that all Kermode bears are white.
  • 1966  And so Stanley Park obtained its rare "Kermodes" bear, the second of its kind to be exhibited in any zoo.