When we think of polar bears, we tend to think of a sad bear swimming, looking for a floe of ice to cling to. Maybe instead we should be concerned they’re going to organize and march on Washington.
At least that’s the tone scientists have taken after looking through the polar bear genome. It turns out these bears are even tougher than we thought.
We used to believe polar bears diverged from brown bears 600,000 years ago, but it turns out they’ve been around for four or five million years. They’ve also dealt with temperature changes, although none as drastic as what we’ve been inflicting on the Earth lately. Unsurprisingly the scientific data shows that the warmer it gets on this rock the fewer polar bears there are.
The big threat right now is that as the ice melts, populations become separated and the breeding options are limited, weakening the species’ overall genetic diversity. Polar bears are so hard up for lovin’ that they’ve recently been seen, uh, how do we put this, “interacting” with brown bears. That would create a new hybrid species and reduce polar bear numbers even further.
In short, polar bears are tougher than we thought but we’re doing our best to smack them down. Somehow we’re not betting on humanity in this fight.
image courtesy longhorndave on Flickr
![[avatar]](http://p.uproxxcdn.com/photo/569/thumb)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/10-reasons-why-time-travel-is-no-good-according-to-glove-and-boots-150x150.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/feels-scroll-150x150.gif)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/Screenshot-from-2013-05-03-084021-150x150.png)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/boogers-150x150.jpg)
Polar bears and brown bears creating some hybrid superbear? Forget the Myans, this is how the world will end in 2012 not with a bang but with a roar.
I think you meant “first with a bang and then with a roar”
Polar bears mixing with brown bears? Next they’ll want to marry and then gay bears will want in on the action. Damn these brown bears with their hippety hop and saggy pants.
The thing I keep in mind about Polar Bears is they are opportunistic in an environment where there aren’t many opportunities. If you happen to be stranded in the arctic and one smells you, there is nothing short of the terminator that will keep a polar bear from eating your face off. They just keep coming and keep coming. They don’t give fucks.
1) The polar bear/ grizzly bear hybrid has been an observed hybrid for a long time now, it is only more recently that the numbers increasing. 2) This recent climate trend is still being studied, but even in the worst outcome it will not be the most drastic climate change to happen since human civilization started let alone the time span in which polar bears have existed on this earth. Look into geology and anthropology if you don’t believe me, not the global warming scientist whom don’t study along a long enough time frame, as well as having some very notable fudging of data from some of the top scientist in said field.
so what if polar bear numbers are reduced from mixing with brown bears…. it’s so like us humans to want to preserve species for such shallow reasons. Idk I guess Im just not following you, but at least from hybridization, this should not be an issue. The last time I checked, hybrids have greater and more numerous resistances to various ailments as well as being more adaptive. this goes for humans too…not humans and chimps…you get what am saiyan?
I WANT TO FUCK A MONKEY.
Polar Bears are the SHIT!
I remember doing a science report on them in like 8th grade and gaining a profound respect (read: FEAR) for them since then. Like @Digital said, they are opportunistic in a very unforgiving environment: they’re big, quick, can swim relentlessly and are cunning as hell. Let’s just say the more we can keep them in the Arctic, the better it is for the future of mankind.
If they ever get that itch for an orca whale stranded on an ice floe, we’re proper f***ed