The Glacier Bear, sometimes called a blue bear, is a rather rare colour phase of black bears, Ursus americanus. The colour of individual bears ranges from a silvery-blue to gray, and isn't consistent - a black-coloured bear can have glacier-coloured young, and vice-versa. Because the colour is only found in Southeast Alaska, primarily in the Glacier Bay area, they have been recognized as a subspecies, Ursus americanus emmonsii. The unfortunate young bear seen in the Mendenhall Visitor Center was hit by a car near Juneau in 1998.

This photograph is © 2014 by Murray Lundberg, and is not to be copied without express permission.