Climate Change Babies
Grizzly bears and polar bears are mating in the wild, producing fertile 'grolar bear' or 'pizzly bear' hybrids — a consequence of climate change pushing their ranges together.
As Arctic ice melts and habitats shift, two species that rarely encountered each other are now meeting — and mating. The result: grolar bears (or pizzly bears).
These hybrids of grizzly bears and polar bears were first confirmed in the wild in 2006 when a hunter shot a strange-looking bear in the Canadian Arctic. DNA testing confirmed it had a polar bear mother and grizzly father.
Since then, more hybrids have been found, including second-generation hybrids (proving the first-generation hybrids are fertile). This is significant — many animal hybrids are sterile, like mules.
The hybridization is occurring because: - Climate change is reducing sea ice, pushing polar bears onto land longer - Grizzly bears are expanding northward as temperatures rise - The two species are now overlapping in ways they didn't before - They're genetically similar enough to produce fertile offspring
Grolar bears show mixed characteristics: - Intermediate size - Cream-colored or brownish fur - Partially webbed paws - Hunting behaviors from both species
Scientists have mixed feelings about these hybrids. Some worry polar bear genes will be "swamped" by grizzly genes as the Arctic warms. Others point out this is how evolution works — climate changes, species adapt, sometimes by merging.
This is natural hybridization, not something humans directly caused (though we caused the climate change driving it).