Rare bears with bluish fur face grim future

[Still Waters]

Tania Lewis is one of the world’s experts on glacier bears, but even she has only seen these mysterious animals a handful of times. As a wildlife biologist at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska, Lewis studies the park’s small, little-seen population of what are genetically black bears, but whose coats range from mostly black with a silvery fringe to entirely bluish gray.

“To have a rare color … that’s not found anywhere on Earth—there’s a story there,” Lewis says.

In their latest research, Lewis and colleagues have offered new clues into why glacier bears are so unusual. The research also has revealed potential challenges to the bears’ future as temperatures rise due to global climate change.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/07/rare-glacier-bears-revealed-alaska/