Polar Bear-Grizzly Bear Hybrid
May 23rd, 2006 David King - King's Outdoor World
DNA Proves Hunter’s bear is first known wild Polar Bear-Grizzly Bear hybrid
Idaho hunter Jim Martell was polar bear hunting on Banks Island, in Canada’s Northwest Territories in mid-April when he got his game. Wildlife officials seized the prize after the hunt, however, when they noticed that its white fur was mottled with brown patches and its eyes were set inside thin circles of black skin, like a grizzly bear’s. A humped back, dished face and long claws also were features of a grizzly bear. Subsequent DNA analysis confirmed that the bear was a cross between the two breeds, the first ever discovered in the wild. The Northwest Territories Environment and Natural Resources Department returned the bear to Martell. Officials said that though interaction between the two species is not typical, grizzlies have been showing up in the region in small numbers in recent years. The drive to breed and the inability to find another grizzly bear may have led the grizzly to mate with the polar bear, biologists speculate. Though there is no established name for this cross, locals have been calling it a “pizzly” and a “grolar” bear.
Entry Filed under: News and Stuff
11 Comments Add your own
1. Joe | May 23rd, 2006 at 4:10 pm
wow thats the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of nice trophy!!!!!!!!!!
2. Alberta-wes | September 11th, 2006 at 7:36 pm
That is a bear of a LIFETIME. Thank God he didnt know what he was looking at, or he probuably would have missed ! !
3. Mighty Hunter | October 20th, 2006 at 7:50 am
IT LOOKS EVIL!!! But nice kill anyways.
4. Big Foot Hunter | October 18th, 2007 at 11:30 am
I have been looking for bigfoot for 37 years and i have only seen him 15 times. I think that i have been searching for the wrong thrill. that is the biggest and meanest looking animal i have seen seen. GREAT KILL.
5. Djoozie | November 7th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
“The first ever discovered in the wild” . And now he’s dead,….
Thanks to the hunter.
I don’t say anything anymore, otherwise my comment will be deleted because of the first two guidelines.
6. jaglionluver | November 10th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
i reckon the bear should have been left alone! the poor thing i mean why was the man hunting polar bears anyway? was he wanting fur? i thought it was illegal. i rest my case. PS it would look more nbicer if there wasnt blood.
7. Mike_ten1962 | December 6th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
I don’t eat things much bigger than a chicken these days, but like the bear we are all in the system of hunting or being hunted, its just we are at the top of this chain. Hopefully it was a quick kill, I can’t get my head round killing whales though. And bull fighting is another world and unbelievably grusome.
8. becca | January 26th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Global warming peoples preserve the ice and the things on it,
and how did a grizzly bear get up to where its polar
bear country?
Genetics gone haywire
9. elena | April 23rd, 2008 at 11:08 am
i truly believe that this situation is going to become more common and this new race of bears will soon dominate and become adapted to the new climate caused by global warming.
10. John | April 24th, 2008 at 10:21 am
I’m not a believer in global warming via co2 levels….it’s a hoax. But there is always the possibility of crossbreeding in species closely related. There is evidence of muley/whitetail crosses and even where I’ve done research there is the possibility copperhead/cottonmouth crosses. I haven’t looked into the circumstances of those cross breeds but I don’t feel that it would occur as commonly as some think. In regards to hunting the species….anti-hunting organizations can throw their little pow wows but preservation is strictly on the shoulders of the hunters. Two prime examples are the white rhino and wildebeest that were both near extinction but due to hunting conservation efforts (management and finances) the populations have exploded. Heck even national geographic magazine acknowledges that!
11. gerald | May 14th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Thats pretty cool… i wish that i could shoot something like that… Im from wyoming and im glad that its in canada and not here as we have them stupid wolves and thank god they just got delisted so they are now listed as a preditor
as to the global warming u ppl have been talking about i dont believe in any of that.
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