Mate a grizzly bear with a polar bear and get a really big bear. Each was big anyway. Their offspring aren’t necessarily bigger, but one sign of climate change is the overlapping of grizzly and polar bear territories. Because each is known for having broad ranges and low densities, it’s always been hard for them to find mates. They’ve found each other. Ah. The story is less about the bears and more about the evidence of climate change changing species. But, mate two predators that are above humans on the food chain, and people can understandably worry if the aggressive traits will amplify. For the polar bears, it is a sign that they may go extinct but live on at least somewhat, genetically.
(Click on the photo for the link.)
“Seeing More Grizzly-Polar Hybrids…” – Quartz
Pretending Not To Panic 