L. Ruth Rivkin, PhD University of Manitoba, Polar Bears International, & San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, joined Ben Mulroney to discuss:

In 2006, a hunter in Canada’s Northwest Territories shot a bear that had white fur with brown patches, long claws, and a grizzly-like hump. The strange-looking bear turned out to be a hybrid: a cross between a polar bear and a grizzly bear.

Over the following years, scientists identified a total of eight polar-grizzly hybrids, and found all the animals were descendants of the same female polar bear. Sometimes called “grolars” when the father is a grizzly bear or a “pizzlies” when the father is a polar bear, these bears made headlines, and some researchers warned that the Arctic could become prime territory for hybrids due to climate change.