Color phase bear

[boneaddict]

My friend just nailed this bear in Idaho.  He wasn't very big, but he sure is beautiful.  He held out to the very end, with a goal of a huge black, or any color phase, and he shot this in the last 15 minutes of light.

[boneaddict]

[Ridgerunner]

I heard about this one, good to see the pictures now.  I need to head over there one spring real soon, I need a good color phase bear.

[boneaddict]

We'll probably hook up here pretty soon Ridge to help get you one of these, or we need to run over there one of these Springs together.

[jackelope]

thats a cool bear...a little bit of every color

[rackattack]

Nice bear.  Looks like billythekidrock's elk have been to idaho

[high country]

good coat,

 I saw one that went about 5' during the spring season that was similar in color and had some very light streaks, had to pick it good to be sure it was right species. we are lucky to have so many different colors of bears in the nw I have seen every color except the blue bear.

[boneaddict]

I hear you about that.  That blue bear is on my list.  My Dad has seen one, but out of all the bear I've seen, not one of those.

[billythekidrock]

Nice bear.  Looks like billythekidrock's elk have been to idaho

LOL

[saylean]

I got a question about the "Color Phase". Is the phase permanent, yearly or what? I knew that we had different color bears (eastern wa/western wa) but didnt really know that they changed color. I just thought that it had to do with the environment/what they ate, etc. So, a brief explination would be cool. I looked it up on Wikipedia, but it didnt help. I ask because I got my first bear last year (a nice gold/blonde color) in Eastern Wa, by Twisp, which kind of looked like the bear shown above, fur wise.

Thanks again.

Saylean

[boneaddict]

I would guess mostly genetics. 

[mossback91]

AS in blue your talking like silver/graysih right?? seen one. Had a bear tag. He was a big boar. I was deer hunting and didnt want to mess with bear plus he was very pretty. I let him walk.

[billythekidrock]

I got a question about the "Color Phase". Is the phase permanent, yearly or what?

"Do bears' coats change color?
Yes, a bear's coat can change color - from brown or cinnamon to black.  This generally happens in the juvenile or sub-adults years.  Changes seen in older bears are usually attributable to bleaching, where the tips of the hairs are lighter than the base."

"Why would black bears be different colors if they are all the same species?
While the causes are not perfectly clear, there is evidence to suggest that coat colors vary as a mechanism of camouflage or due to climate and habitat."

AS in blue your talking like silver/graysih right??

"What is the rarest color phase of American black bears?
While white is the rarest color phase, a very uncommon and particularly beautiful color phase of the black bear is the blue-gray or glacier bears of southeastern Alaska, northwestern British Columbia and the southwest Yukon."

From here http://www.americanbear.org/FUR.htm

[Houndhunter]

He wasn't very big

wasnt very big is right, he's still got milk drippin from them lips

[Bigshooter]

My buddy has a dog that looks just like that.