Climate change is NOT to blame for polar bears breeding with grizzly bears
One of the many damaging effects of climate change put forward by scientists is that shrinking habitats are causing polar and grizzly bears to mate more.
This hybridisation could dilute polar bears’ DNA which will further drive down the animals’ already dwindling numbers, experts suggest.
But a new study reveals that this inter-breeding is natural and is in fact not a consequence of global warming.
It had previously been assumed climate change causes grizzlies or ‘brown bears’ to invade northern regions while polar bears are pushed onto the sea ice later than usual.
The new results show however that an abundant flow of genes among different bear species occurred plenty of times in the past.
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