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| "Grolar" Bear - Ursus arctos x maritimus | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 7 2012, 07:49 PM (8,320 Views) | |
| Taipan | Jan 7 2012, 07:49 PM Post #1 |
Administrator
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"Grolar" Bear - Ursus arctos x maritimus Grizzly–polar bear hybrid A grizzly–polar bear hybrid is a rare ursid hybrid that has occurred both in captivity and in the wild. In 2006, the occurrence of this hybrid in nature was confirmed by testing the DNA of a strange-looking bear that had been shot in the Canadian arctic. Previously, the hybrid had been produced in zoos and was considered a "cryptid" (a hypothesized animal for which there is no scientific proof of existence in the wild). Polar/Brown Bear Hybrid, Rothschild Museum, TringA number of polar bear hybrids are described as Ursid hybrid, a term that designates any hybrid of two species within the Ursidae family. Polar bear hybrids with Kodiak bears have been reported and shot, but DNA techniques were not available to verify the bears' ancestry. Occurrences in the wild With one confirmed case and other suspected sightings, zoologists are theorizing how wild hybrids might come into being. Although the two species are genetically similar and often are found in the same territories, they tend to avoid each other in the wild. They also fill different ecological niches. Grizzlies (and also Kodiak bears and "Alaskan Brown Bears," which are all subspecies of the Brown bear Ursus arctos) tend to stay — and breed — on land. Polar bears prefer the water and ice, and breed on the ice. Some theories suggest that global warming has caused the ice to thin and caused the polar bears to be unable to hunt or "live" in their natural habitat. Because of this they have moved further inland, and it is believed that this increased the frequency of hybrids. As the huge yellowish-white MacFarlane's Bear, a mysterious animal known only from one specimen acquired in 1864, may attest, grizzly-polar bear hybrids may well have always occurred from time to time. 2006 discovery Jim Martell, a hunter from the United States, found and shot a grizzly–polar bear hybrid near Sachs Harbour on Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada, reportedly on April 16, 2006. Martell had been hunting for polar bears with an official license and a guide, at a cost of $50,000, and killed the animal believing it to be a normal polar bear. Officials took interest in the creature after noticing that it had thick, creamy white fur, typical of polar bears, as well as long claws; a humped back; a shallow face; and brown patches around its eyes, nose, and back, and having patches on one foot, which are all traits of grizzly bears. If the bear had been adjudicated to be a grizzly, he would have faced a possible CAN$1,000 fine and up to a year in jail. A DNA test conducted by Wildlife Genetics International in British Columbia confirmed that it was a hybrid, with the mother a polar bear and the father a grizzly. It is the first documented case in the wild, though it was known that this hybrid was biologically possible and other ursid hybrids have been bred in zoos in the past. Amidst much controversy, the bear has since been returned to Martell." Naming Since the 2006 discovery placed the hybrid into the spotlight, the media have referred to this animal with several portmanteau names, such as pizzly, grolar bear, and polizzly; but there is no consensus on the use of any one of these terms. Canadian wildlife officials have suggested calling the hybrid "Nanulak" , taken from the Inuit names for polar bear (Nanuk) and grizzly bear (Aklak). By one convention the name of the sire comes first in such combinations: the offspring of a male Polar bear and a female Grizzly would be a "Pizzly bear," while the offspring of a male Grizzly and a female Polar bear would be a "Grolar bear." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly-polar_bear_hybrid |
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| Full Throttle | Jan 30 2013, 02:42 AM Post #2 |
Apex Predator
  ![]](http://b2.ifrm.com/28122/87/0/p701956/pipright.png)
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I found these image on the net today, it really interests me. It is 2 photos of bears taken in the Northern Arctic and I can't make my mid up if it is a light phase arctic grizzly or grolar, it doesn't appear to have any polar bear characteristics although the color of the fur especially on the legs looks suspiciously like a polar bears... i think this is outside of the polar bears range though I'm not sure. Could one of the bear buffs of the forum lend some insight.  I'm fairly certain it is just a blonde phase interior arctic grizzly, but what does everyone else think? |
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| Sicilianu | Jan 30 2013, 02:48 AM Post #3 |
Omnivore
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The head looks to wide to have polar bear blood in it, and the neck looks to short. I would say blonde grizzly. |
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| Ausar | Jan 30 2013, 10:04 AM Post #4 |
Xi-miqa-can! Xi-miqa-can! Xi-miqa-can!
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I heard from a Nat Geo documentary that the grolar bear might actually be an example of bear evolution. |
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| Canis Warrior | May 17 2013, 10:56 AM Post #5 |
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Canidae expert
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It is to adaptate to a changing world they must add brown bears to their gene pool  this is a first gene grolar
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| Taipan | May 27 2016, 03:02 PM Post #6 |
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Administrator
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'Polar bear hybrid' shot in Canada 25 May 2016  Global warming could increase the chances of polar bears (pictured) encountering grizzlies A possible grizzly-polar bear hybrid has been shot by a hunter in northern Canada. Scientists will have to wait on DNA tests to determine whether it is one of the rare crosses. The two bears generally inhabit different ecological niches. But some experts suggest climate change and melting Arctic ice could increasingly bring them into contact. The possible hybrid is said to possess physical features of both species. The animal was shot by 25-year-old hunter Didji Ishalook in Nunavut, the country's biggest and northernmost territory. "I think it's 99% sure that it's going to turn out to be a hybrid," Ian Stirling, an emeritus research scientist with Environment Canada, told the Toronto Star newspaper. Hybrids are known either as a grolar or a pizzly, depending on whether the father is a grizzly or polar bear. The finds have to be confirmed through genetic tests and are so rare that only a handful have been confirmed in the last decade. Prof Andrew Derocher, from the University of Alberta, said that the bear did not appear to be an albino grizzly. But its claws appear to be longer and more "grizzly-like" than other hybrids that have been caught and examined. "We haven't done the genetics on this and, until we do, we won't really be able to say anything conclusively," he told the Toronto Star. "The unusual thing here is how did a male grizzly bear bump into a female polar bear... Most of the mating activity of polar bears is occurring out on the sea ice, so there's a spatial discontinuity between where a grizzly bear would be in the spring and where a polar bear would be in the spring." Mixing between the two species probably happened thousands of years ago as ice sheets advanced and retreated. Today, their interactions could receive a boost as climate change and melting Arctic ice force them into closer proximity. http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36381785 |
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| Mesopredator | Feb 12 2018, 10:22 PM Post #7 |
Disaster taxa
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Lovers gonna love. 
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2:20 AM Jul 14
