An Inuvialuit elder has shot what he believes is a polar bear/grizzly bear hybrid whilst out hunting for polar bears.

Mystery Bear

Robert Kuptana was surprised to spot the brownish coloured bear in the middle of a pack of seals about 30 km from Victoria Island where rare hybrid bears have been found before.

“Why would a grizzly bear be hunting seals?” he said. “It’s a land animal. They wait for fish in rivers.”

Kuptana shot the bear dead and was immediately taken by what he believes to be unusual features of the bear’s morphology.

“Its fur is probably a little lighter,” Kuptana said. “The back paws, the nails, they’re short just like a polar bear. The front paws, they’re long and huge. They’re really different. Twice as big as polar bears.”

Grolars and Pizzlies

DNA has been taken from the animal to be sent to Inuvik for testing, but as of yet the nature of the bear, grizzly or grizzly-polar hybrid – known as grolars or pizzlies- has yet to be determined. Last month Mr Kuptana’s neighbour, David Kuptana, shot the first confirmed secong-generation polar-grizzly hybrid.

Despite the excitement of Mr Kuptana experts are more pessimistic about the identity of the bear.

“The two (hybrids) that we’ve had so far are very blond looking, with mixed markings,” said Marsha Branigan of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, manager of wildlife management. “If I had of seen that bear just standing there, I would have thought it was a grizzly bear … he (Kuptana) hasn’t heard of any grizzlies hunting seals but we have.”

Evolution in Action

Regardless of the outcome of the DNA results of this bear the grizzly-polar hybrids that have been proven offer an interesting insight into evolution in action. Professor of biological sciences and polar bear expert Andrew Derocher would like the opportunity to tag and track a hybrid to gain an understanding of the behaviour of these animals, do they hibernate like grizzlys? However he recognises that the rarity of these animals such that it is up to chance as to whether this ever becomes a reality.

Evolution

“Evolutionary, it’s an interesting question: what does this mean?” he said. “As grizzly bears move further north, all bets are off in terms of predicting the future of evolution.”

Biologists estimate there to be as many as 50 grizzly bears living on Victoria Island making the chances of Mr Kuptana’s bear being a typical grizzly not uncommon. Derocher also points out that blonde grizzly bears have also been known to exist.

Polar bears are likely to be one of the first and most significantly affected species as a result of climate change. This means that more responsibility will fall on the shoulders of organisations such as WWF to help them get through these difficult times. You can help in your own special way by sponsoring a polar bear with WWF and help to ensure that the species has a future.