British Columbia·Video

Black bear with blue head spotted in Mission, B.C.

Why does black bear have a blue head?

Conservation officer says bear appears to be healthy

The conservation officer says this black bear may have got its head into a can of spray paint. (Aaron Smith)

Nobody's quite sure why a black bear spotted in Mission, B.C. sports a blue head.

Aaron Smith was driving along Highway 7 on Tuesday when he noticed the female bear and her cub. He pulled over to take a closer look. 

"It was such an odd thing — it really was that blue!" he told CBC News. He and his colleagues decided to dub the bear "Blue Beary."

He called the B.C. Conservation Service to see whether the bear might need some attention, but the service won't be sending its officers to check it out. 

"The bear appears to be healthy and fine … it's foraging and with a cub," said conservation officer Paul McFadden. 

"Maybe it got into a can of spray paint thinking it was food, maybe it dipped its head in a bucket of dye … it's a bear doing a bear thing," he speculated. 

The bear's condition doesn't require intervention, he said, the blue fur will eventually grow out naturally.