05-02-2021, 07:37 PM
https://earther.gizmodo.com/polar-bear-g...1846805213 What do you get when you cross a polar bear and a grizzly bear? A fluffy reminder of how climate change is transforming our planet at an alarming rate.
These hybrids, sometimes called pizzly bears or grolar bears, have been spotted in the wild as far back as 2006. But with global temperatures rising as a result of carbon pollution, the two species’ habitats are overlapping more often. While the heat pushes grizzly bears north, polar bears have been traveling south in search of food as arctic sea ice continues to shrink to historic levels. And odds are the two aren’t just bumping elbows—they seem to be increasingly engaging in “opportunistic mating,” as Vanderbilt University’s Larisa DeSantis put it in a recent video released by the institute. One study in 2017 documented at least eight pizzlies that were traced back to a single female polar bear and two separate grizzly bears.
“We’ve known about pizzlies for quite some time, but their occurrence may be more common with ongoing Arctic warming,” said DeSantis, an associate professor of biological sciences.
Interesting that this is possible - although, it's kind of sad that the reason for it is the heating of the polar regions
.If this is the future of polar bears, then I guess it's better than outright extinction; however, I do hope at least some of them are able to continue as pure polar bears.