questionmark Posted October 3, 2012 #1 Share Posted October 3, 2012 The melting Arctic ice has brought polar bears and grizzly bears together and their hybrid offspring, known as "pizzlies," have been detected on Canadian islands. It is a trend that is happening with other species as well, and scientists are worried because it poses a risk to biodiversity. The two students from the University of Alberta, flying across the Arctic ice in a helicopter, were startled by what they saw below: a white dot and a brown dot on the ice. The biologists soon realized it was a grizzly bear next to a polar bear. The sighting was on Victoria Island, 500 kilometers (313 miles) from the grizzlies' normal habitat on the Canadian mainland. The polar bear also struck them as a little strange. It had a dark stripe on its back, its snout looked dirty, its head was noticeably larger than normal, and there was a hump behind its shoulders, which is normally found only on brown bears. The paws looked as if the animal were wearing socks. The students had discovered a strange hybrid that goes by various names: grolar bear, pizzly or Nanulak, a combination of the two Inuit words for the animals' parents: polar bear (Nanuk) and grizzly (Aklak). Read more 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mnemonix Posted October 3, 2012 #2 Share Posted October 3, 2012 You know the world is going to end when polar and grizzly bears mate. Humans are the root cause for most of these things happening, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
None of the above Posted October 3, 2012 #3 Share Posted October 3, 2012 You know the world is going to end when polar and grizzly bears mate. Humans are the root cause for most of these things happening, though. Let's hear from the naysayers on how this is part of some 'natural cycle'? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReaperS_ParadoX Posted October 3, 2012 #4 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Let's hear from the naysayers on how this is part of some 'natural cycle'? lmao natural cycle my ass I agree with Mnemonix this is a sign that the world is coming to an end!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter Summer Posted October 3, 2012 #5 Share Posted October 3, 2012 (edited) Quote "It is a trend that is happening with other species as well, and scientists are worried because it poses a risk to biodiversity." A risk to biodiversity? How? Now there are three species of bears instead of two. Biodiversity is expanding. EVERY grizzly and EVERY polar bear will not seek each other out as mates, but a few have. Let nature run it's course. Edited October 3, 2012 by Winter Summer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReaperS_ParadoX Posted October 3, 2012 #6 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Quote "It is a trend that is happening with other species as well, and scientists are worried because it poses a risk to biodiversity." A threat to biodiversity? How? Now there are three species of bears instead of two. Biodiversity is expanding. I agree I mean what's the worst that can happen unless these hybrid bears are weaker than the others I don't see a problem with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super-Fly Posted October 3, 2012 #7 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Nah, natural cycle of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah_444 Posted October 3, 2012 #8 Share Posted October 3, 2012 (edited) I knew that this has already been happening with wolves and coyotes (producing "Coywolves"). From reading the article, one of the main concerns is that the hybrids could be infertile which means that the parent species (which are already endangered) could be mating multiple times and die without passing on their genes at all. Edited October 3, 2012 by sarah_444 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReaperS_ParadoX Posted October 3, 2012 #9 Share Posted October 3, 2012 I knew that this has already been happening with wolves and coyotes (producing "Coywolves"). From reading the article, one of the main concerns is that the hybrids could be infertile which means that the parent species (which are already endangered) could be mating multiple times and die without passing on their genes at all. Oooohhh see I didn't know that, if that's the case then yes it could be a problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bavarian Raven Posted October 3, 2012 #10 Share Posted October 3, 2012 I believe "Redwolves" are the name of the coyote/wolf hybrids in the prairies... as for polar bears and grizzles interbreeding, they both came from a common ancestor... so I dont see the big surprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashotep Posted October 4, 2012 #11 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I heard about this a couple of years ago. There was a show on TV that showed a bear that someone had killed that looked different. They found out it was a mix of polar and grizzly. They are intermixing more to find food than they have in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now