More and more grolars are born in the Arctic - hybrids of polar bears and grizzlies

The world is warming up, the ice in the Arctic is melting, and starving polar bears are moving farther south in search of food. At the same time, the grizzly bear's range is steadily expanding to the north. As a result, two species of the bear family more and more often meet and mate, producing offspring - scientists call them pizzly, or grolars (from the English grizzly bear and polar bear). The creamy white pizzly fur resembles a polar bear. At the same time, he has long claws, a humped back, a rather short muzzle and brown stripes on his skin, like a grizzly bear. The peasles have advantages that make it easier for them to survive in the North. Therefore, scientists assume that they are here for a long time, reports LiveScience.

Grizzly bears and polar bears diverged on the evolutionary tree only 500,000 to 600,000 years ago, so the two species can produce viable offspring. Observations of animals in the wild and in captivity have shown that hybrids also produce offspring and are very fertile.

The first documented case of a peasley encounter dates back to 2006, when a hunter shot a previously unseen animal in the Canadian Arctic. DNA analysis confirmed that the beast is a hybrid. Since then, the number of such cases has steadily increased. A 2017 study published in the journal Arctic found that eight pizzleys descended from one female polar bear that mated with two grizzly bears.

The increase in the number of hybrids coincides with the decrease in the number of polar bears. According to forecasts of biologists, in the next 30 years their number will decrease by 30%. This is due to the fact that the diet of polar bears is narrow, and with the invasion of their habitats by grizzlies, which are easier to feed on.

Polar bears have long skulls, which makes it easy for them to hunt seals in the sea. However, their molars are quite short in relation to body length, and they can only eat fatty foods. In turn, grizzlies can eat whatever they want. There is a possibility that the peculiarities of the structure of the pizzli's skull will allow the hybrid to take the best from both parents.

Peaslys are one of those "universal" animals like coyotes that find it easier to survive during climate change. In contrast, polar bears are a specific species. Their menus have remained the same for centuries, and their habitat has shrunk dramatically over the past half century. The calories they can get from food are not enough to sustain life. As a result, hybrids may one day completely displace them.