Rare ‘cinnamon-colored’ bear dies at Grandfather Mountain, NC reserve says

One of North Carolina’s most unusual black bears has died of old age at Grandfather Mountain, according to the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation.

Kodiak, affectionately known as Kody, was euthanized on April 24, due to “advanced-age-related complications, including severe arthritis,” foundation officials said in an April 27 news release.

He was 27, which is two years past the average life expectancy for bears in North Carolina, experts say.

“Many of us have not known a time on the mountain without Kody, so this will be a very difficult adjustment for keepers, staff and all who knew him,” Animal Habitats Curator Christie Tipton said in the release. “Kody had an enormous personality.”

Kodiak lived at the park’s Mildred the Bear Environmental Habitats, giving tourists a rare chance to see a black bear under controlled circumstances.

However, he was unlike most of the state’s black bears, due to being cinnamon-colored, park officials said.

“The majority of black bears are black in color with or without a white patch on their chest. However, black bears also can be seen in other color phases, such as the cinnamon phase, a blond phase, a blue phase or a rare white phase,” foundation officials said.

“Less than 1% of black bears in the Eastern U.S. are cinnamon in color. About 10% are cinnamon in the Western U.S., where Kody was born.”

Kodiak was about four months old when he arrived at Grandfather Mountain in 1999, officials said. He was the only male among the habitat’s six resident bears, and fathered 10 cubs who were released into the wild by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission to boost the local bear population, park officials said. (The practice was discontinued when the bear population stabilized.)

“He could often be found hiding in a tree and whining when other bears got into an argument with one another. Eventually, Kody realized that he was at least 150 pounds larger than the other bears and that he didn’t have to run from them anymore,” park officials said.

“As Kody grew into his later years, he weighed around 500 pounds, making him the largest resident black bear on the mountain.”

Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation is a nonprofit formed in 2009 to operate the 700-acre portion of Grandfather Mountain that includes the Mile High Swinging Bridge and Wilson Center for Nature Discovery. The site is adjacent to Grandfather Mountain State Park. For details, visit www.grandfather.com.

Grandfather Mountain is about a 115-mile drive northwest from uptown Charlotte.